Our Island
by ChocolatteKitty-Kat
Summary: Set after season 3. The remnants of the 2nd Mass find a group of kids with spikes in the woods and take them in. They continue their offensive against the skitters/Espheni. T for violence (come on, they're fighting aliens from outer space! There's going to be violence!) and some mild language. Some Ben/OC, Jimmy/Deni, and Hal/Maggie... Will be AU once season 4 starts, obviously...
1. Chapter 1

**OKAY! So, this kind of just jumps right in, I know. If you have questions, hang on until the end, cos they're most likely answered... I know this chapter is long (3500 words...) but not all of them will be so long, so hang in there? I'd love it if you reviewed, but if you don't, that's cool too...**

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><p>'Jimmy!' a child's voice rang out. It was eight-year-old Colm. The cry would have been inaudible to a normal human's ears, but the twelve spikes running down Jimmy's back enhanced his senses far beyond the normal range.<p>

'Colm, where are you?' Jimmy called. 'Are Harlem and Abby with you?'

'Harlem got hit in the head and didn't wake up yet,' Colm responded. 'Abby can't hear you.'

'Summer, Mariah, and Amanda are with me,' Jimmy yelled. 'We want to meet up with you guys. Start coming towards my voice and I'll come towards yours.'

'I can't tell where you're talking from!' Colm called after a short pause.

'That's okay!' Jimmy called. 'Just keep calling to me and I'll come for you.'

'Okay!' Colm shouted.

Jimmy prompted the girls to their feet and started making his way towards Colm's voice. 'Colm! Keep talking!'

'Abby says that once she can hear you, we'll start walking towards you,' Colm called.

'That's good,' Jimmy yelled, clambering over another fallen trunk before turning to help the girls. They were all young; Summer was eleven, Mariah was nine, and Amanda was ten. They were small, so the trek through the forest was difficult for them, despite their strength and stamina gained from the spikes in each of their backs.

'She can't hear you yet!' Colm called. 'She says to hurry, she doesn't want the skitters to find us while Harlem's still un-science.'

'What's wrong with Harlem?' Jimmy asked.

'He got hit on the head,' Colm replied. 'Abby says he's un-con-science.'

'Oh,' Jimmy smiled to himself, realizing what Colm meant. 'Ask Abby how he looks.'

There was a long pause before Colm replied. 'She says he has a goose egg that's turning purple, but he isn't bleeding.'

'Great,' Jimmy called back. 'That's really good.'

'Abby says she thinks he's waking up!' Colm shouted, excitement in his voice.

'Fantastic!' Jimmy shouted, helping the small girls over another obstacle. He was about to turn around from lifting Summer over a rock when the cold muzzle of a rifle pressed into his back. Jimmy slowly raised his hands.

'Turn around,' a familiar voice growled.

'Pope?' Jimmy asked, incredulous, as he turned.

Pope's face went white when he recognized Jimmy. 'No way.'

'What?' Jimmy asked.

'You're dead,' Pope gaped. 'I went to your funeral.'

'W-what?' Jimmy stammered, dumbfounded.

'You died,' Pope growled. 'A skitter threw you into a tree and you were impaled on a branch. Dr. Glass couldn't save you and you _died_.'

Jimmy felt the blood drain from his face. 'That's impossible.'

'Kid, we buried you,' Pope was shaking. 'You were dead.'

'N-no,' Jimmy gasped. His hand rested on the lower part of his abdomen. 'That can't be right.'

'It's right,' Pope cocked his gun.

'Jimmy,' Amanda whimpered. The three girls had clustered behind their "brother" and were peering around his sides at Pope.

'What do you want with me, Pope?' Jimmy asked, reaching back to soothe the girls. He had lost his weapons fighting the skitters, as had the girls. They were defenseless against the ex-con; he had a gun against their strength and speed. At least one of them would die before they could reach Pope, and Jimmy wasn't willing to risk that.

'I want you all to come with me,' Pope growled. 'Colonel Weaver will be interested to see you.'

'Sure,' Jimmy nodded. 'No problem. You don't need the gun for that.'

'Insurance,' Pope grumbled. 'I saw your spikes. Don't want you jumping me. Try to attack me, and one of you gets it.'

'Try again,' a voice came from behind Pope. 'Turn around real slow and take a look at what you're up against.'

Pope turned. When he saw Samson behind him, he gaped and dropped his gun on the ground. 'What the hell.'

Samson grinned and cracked his knuckles, raising his fist to punch Pope.

'No!' Jimmy protested. 'Stop. I want him to take me back with him.'

'Back where?' Abby asked, appearing beside Samson. Colm stood next to her. Dallon, supporting Harlem, appeared on Samson's other side.

'Are you still with the 2nd Mass?' Jimmy demanded.

'Yeah,' Pope grumbled, not daring to lie with Samson staring him down.

'I want him to take me to them,' Jimmy asserted, straightening where he stood.

'Seriously?' Samson growled. 'Humans? You want to go to _humans_!?'

'Yeah,' Jimmy frowned.

'You think they'll take you back with those spikes running down your back?' Samson scoffed. 'They'll turn you out on your ear. Better just stick with your pack.'

'The 2nd Mass is different,' Jimmy protested. 'They rescue kids and deharness them. Or at least they used to. Pope, is Ben still there?'

'Yeah,' Pope grumbled.

'That's how they're different,' Jimmy asserted. 'Ben was one of the first kids they deharnessed. He still has his spikes. He was my best friend there.'

'They have a spike-back there?' Samson scoffed. 'Humans hate you guys. They don't trust you.'

'Samson, quit it,' Abby snapped. 'I think it sounds good. If they'll take us, why can't we go with them? They probably have a doctor who can help Harlem. Just for a little.'

'Go ahead,' Samson sneered. 'I'm not coming with you, though. Go on yourself. Good luck keeping this one under control.'

'I have my gun,' Abby shrugged. 'I think I'm the only one who still does. I can keep him under control.'

'Fine,' Samson growled. 'Do what you want. I'll see ya.' Without further ado, he vanished into the trees.

Abby raised her gun and pointed it towards Pope. 'Jimmy, grab his gun. You, start walking.'

With a gulp, Pope stumbled towards the main road through the forest. Abby followed directly behind, pressing her gun into his back. Jimmy jogged to catch up as the younger children fell in behind Abby, Dallon and Harlem bringing up the rear.

The group trekked through the forest until they reached the main road. Abby was soaked with sweat, her damaged spikes not lending her the stamina of the other spiked kids. When they reached the shoulder, Jimmy turned to face Abby. 'You guys stay here. They're only a few feet that way, but I'll go in first. I know them; they'll trust me more than a whole bunch of us together.'

'Okay,' Abby nodded, panting. 'Do you want him?'

'Sure,' said Jimmy. He beckoned for Pope to follow him and the two stepped onto the road. They made their way towards the camp, the others walking beside them in the woods, almost completely silent.

'Who's there!?' a voice cried from the camp perimeter.

'Answer,' Jimmy whispered, poking Pope with the gun he'd picked up earlier.

'It's me,' Pope shouted reluctantly. 'And… friend.'

'Friend?' the sentry called, stepping into the light of the fires flickering inside the camp.

'Yeah,' Pope called. 'Get Mason and Weaver.'

Jimmy and Pope waited outside of the camp while the sentry sent someone for Mason and Weaver. A smaller figure appeared next to the big sentry, staring out towards Jimmy and Pope. Jimmy squinted at the figures; he didn't recognize the big one immediately, but the smaller form was familiar. 'Ben?'

'Jimmy?' Ben called back, shock evident in his voice. 'Is that you?'

'Yeah, it's me,' Jimmy replied. Ben started to move out towards Jimmy and Pope, but a new figure that arrived to be silhouetted against the firelight grabbed his arm.

'Dad, it's Jimmy,' Jimmy heard Ben protest.

'That's impossible,' a voice that Jimmy recognized as Weaver's put in.

'Clearly not,' Ben grumbled, pulling away from his father.

'What are they waiting for?' Pope complained. 'I can't hear them, but I bet you can.'

'They think it's impossible that I'm here,' Jimmy replied.

'It's Jimmy,' Pope shouted. 'Let us closer and you'll see for yourself.'

'You sure about that, Pope?' Weaver called.

'Yeah,' Pope replied. He glanced at Jimmy. 'He has spikes.'

They saw the silhouettes look at each other. 'Fine,' Weaver called. 'You can come closer.'

As Jimmy and Pope moved closer, the sentry, Weaver, and Tom Mason raised their guns towards them. Jimmy raised Pope's gun in one hand, returned it to Pope, and raised his hands into clear view of the men in the camp. A few other gun-bearers approached, some of them recognizable as Hal Mason, Maggie, and Dr. Glass.

'Jimmy!' Ben grinned. Ignoring his father, he hurried forward to embrace the other boy. 'What happened? I thought you were dead. We kind of buried you.'

A flashlight shone out form the camp, directly into Jimmy's eyes, as Ben stepped back. Jimmy blinked and squinted.

'He's right,' Weaver said, disbelieving. Jimmy and Ben stood about fifteen feet away from the camp, half of a dozen flashlights trained on them. 'It is Jimmy.'

'Yeah, definitely me,' Jimmy said drily.

Dr. Glass pushed her way to the front and approached Ben and Jimmy. 'Oh my god,' she gasped. 'It really is you.'

'Yep,' Jimmy grunted as Dr. Glass pulled him into a tight hug.

'I am so sorry,' Dr. Glass sighed.

'It's okay, ma'am,' Jimmy shook his head.

'Anne,' Tom called from the camp. Dr. Glass turned and walked back.

'It's definitely Jimmy,' he heard her whisper to Tom.

Ben walked around Jimmy. 'Pope said you have spikes,' he said, stopping behind Jimmy.

Jimmy brushed his hair—too long and desperately in need of a cut—away from the back of his neck. 'Yeah,' he said. 'I do.'

A soft sound came from the edge of the forest. Jimmy and Ben turned to look at it, Ben starting to raise his gun. 'No,' Jimmy said, putting his hand on the muzzle of the gun.

'Ben, what is it?' Tom called, noticing the interaction.

'There's something in the woods,' Ben called.

'It's fine,' Jimmy reassured. 'They're with me.'

'Who's with you?' Weaver asked. He and Tom started to move closer.

Summer burst out of the woods, ran to Jimmy, and flung her arms around his waist. 'This is Summer,' he explained, bending down to pick her up. 'There are eight of us.'

'She has spikes,' Ben observed; the fabric of Summer's shirt had been pulled taught across part of her back when Jimmy picked her up and her spikes poked through the fabric.

'Yeah, we all do,' Jimmy said, slightly defensive.

'Why didn't they come with you?' Weaver asked. 'Why hide in the woods?'

'We didn't want to overwhelm you,' Jimmy shrugged. 'Eight spike-backs, all showing up at once? You wouldn't have reacted the same way.'

'Yeah, you're right,' Weaver nodded. 'But I don't like surprises, as you may remember.'

'I was going to explain and then have them come out,' Jimmy explained.

'Well, why don't you have them come out now,' Dr. Glass suggested. She approached again to look at Summer. 'How long have you guys been in the woods? This one looks hungry, too. I'm sure you all are.'

Jimmy nodded. 'I'm not sure how long we've been around here. A few weeks at least. Samson had us come here when we heard that the Espheni tower in Boston was destroyed. He said it was a weak point.'

'Wait, you know Samson?' Ben asked, glancing at his father and Weaver. 'You're working with the skitter rebellion?'

Jimmy nodded. 'All of us work with the rebel skitters. Samson tells us what to do.'

Ben rolled his eyes. 'Yeah. He thinks he's so cool.' Jimmy smirked in response. 'Wait,' Ben said, glancing at the point in the foliage that Summer had emerged from. 'He's not in there too, is he?'

Jimmy laughed. 'No. He left when we decided that we were going to come here.'

'Oh, good,' Ben sighed. 'He would not be good to have around here.'

'Well, I don't know how far he went,' Jimmy started.

'Point taken,' Ben grinned. 'I'll shut up.'

'Who is this guy?' Tom asked, clearly suspicious.

'Samson?' Ben said. 'He was harnessed for so long he started to turn skitter. But the rebel skitters found him and cut off his harness before he could completely change. Now, he works with them, coordinating with those of us with spikes who don't work quite as closely with the skitters themselves.'

'Look, Jimmy, call your friends out and we'll talk,' Weaver sighed. 'I don't like the thought of a bunch of kids wandering around skitter territory, even if they are spiked.'

'Guys, come on out,' Jimmy called, turning to face the forest. Mariah and Amanda were the first out. They scurried over to Jimmy as he put Summer down. Dallon, still supporting Harlem, came next. Abby followed last, still out of breath from the hike, and holding Colm's hand.

The 2nd Mass surveyed the children. Summer was small and bony, with knobby elbows and knees and long fingers. She had short blonde hair, and wore a long, once-pink long-sleeved shirt and jeans with sneakers. Mariah and Amanda looked similar, both with long stringy brown hair and big brown eyes, but Mariah was several inches shorter than Amanda, and both were very thin. Mariah wore a too-big green sweatshirt with ragged jeans and snowboots, while Amanda wore a long sleeved grey shirt under a holey brown t-shirt, jeans with holes over the knees, and brown sneakers. Dallon wore oversized sweatpants, tied tight to his legs with mismatched strips of cloth, and tucked into muddy workboots, along with a long-sleeved t-shirt and doubled up hoodies. Harlem was dressed similarly to Dallon, but with jeans instead of sweatpants. Colm wore jeans, layered t-shirts, a thick hoodie, and sneakers. Abby, unlike her companions, wore leggings, short denim cut-offs, and a tank top with beat-up fake Ugg boots. She had a hoodie and jacket tied around her waist, and her skin was still beaded with sweat.

As Abby, and Colm approached, Jimmy heard Ben gasp. Before anyone could react, Abby screamed out in pain, collapsing to the ground and clapping a hand over the spikes on the back of her neck. 'Abby!' Colm cried. Jimmy glanced at Ben, noting that his spikes had lit up a vibrant blue and he was stiff.

'Abby,' Colm repeated, reaching out to touch the girl curled up on the ground.

'What's going on?' Dr. Glass demanded, stepping towards Abby. Jimmy glanced at Ben again, realizing that no-one had noticed his glowing spikes.

'Back off,' Dallon growled, stepping in front of Dr. Glass as she approached Abby.

'It's her spikes,' Jimmy explained. 'They were damaged when her harness was removed, so when she connects with someone, it causes her a lot of pain.'

'Who did she connect with?' Tom demanded.

Jimmy looked at Ben again. 'Ben. And he's frozen up because he can feel her pain. They'll break off eventually and both of them will be fine.'

'Are you sure?' Dr. Glass peered at Abby around Dallon, concerned.

'Yeah, it's happened before,' Jimmy nodded.

'Often?' Dr. Glass asked.

'I don't know,' Jimmy shrugged. 'Kind of. Any time she connects with someone. With each of us, the first time we met, with Samson, whenever he shows up, and any time she connects with a skitter. So yeah, I guess pretty often.'

With a gasp, Ben sagged next to Jimmy. Jimmy reached over to support him, pulling one of Ben's arms over his shoulders. 'Ben?' Tom called out, concerned.

'I'm fine,' Ben replied. 'We're not connected anymore.'

'You're not connected to her,' Jimmy corrected. 'She takes longer to disconnect because of the damage to her spikes, so she's still in pain.'

'We should take this back into the camp,' Maggie suggested from the camp perimeter. 'You never know when skitters could show up.'

'She's right,' Tom looked at Weaver.

Weaver sighed. 'Fine. Come on in. Anne, you help the girl if she needs it.'

Dr. Glass nodded and stepped towards Abby. Dallon allowed her past this time, and she helped Abby to her feet. Jimmy continued to support Ben into the camp, the three girls walking ahead of them. 'You okay?' Jimmy asked, looking over at Ben.

'Yeah,' Ben nodded. 'Just… weird. I don't know.'

'I know,' Jimmy nodded. 'I remember the first time I met her. You'll be fine.'

'Will she?' Ben asked.

'Yeah,' Jimmy nodded. They reached the center of the camp inside a the circle of vehicles and tents and Jimmy left Ben sitting next to the fire burning in the center, next to Matt and a small, unfamiliar girl. Jimmy and the rest of his pack followed Dr. Glass and Abby to the med-bus.

'You can put him down there,' Dr. Glass pointed towards an empty stretcher bed in the front of the bus. Dallon laid Harlem on the bed while Dr. Glass rested Abby on a sofa in the back of the repurposed RV.

'I'm fine," Abby sighed, brushing off Dr. Glass's attentions. 'Harlem needs your help; I don't.'

'If you're sure,' Dr. Glass sighed, moving away from Abby and towards the front of the bus. 'You guys cannot all be in here; there is not enough room. Go outside. I'll let you know when I'm done with him, and she can come out when she feels better. Shoo.'

'Come on, guys,' Jimmy prompted, stepping outside so the others could get past. 'Dr. Glass needs to work.'

The other kids filed past, Dr. Glass shooing them from behind. 'Jimmy, why don't you take them to the fire circle? Supper should be ready soon, and you can talk to Colonel Weaver and Tom.'

Jimmy nodded and followed his pack to the circle. He found Tom and Weaver with Ben, Tom standing next to the boy with his hand on his shoulder and Weaver to the other side. 'Jimmy, we need to talk,' Weaver said, catching sight of Jimmy and the pack. 'Bring your friends.'

The pack, minus Abby and Harlem, followed Weaver, Tom, and Ben to one of the larger tents circled around the fire and filed in.

'First things first,' Weaver glared at the kids. He and Tom stood next to each other behind a table covered with maps. Jimmy stood opposite them, Dallon next to him and the younger children behind them. Ben stood near the entrance of the tent, still looking shaken from his connection with Abby. 'Who are you guys?'

'Well, I'm Jimmy Boland, although you knew that,' Jimmy sighed. 'This is Dallon, and that's Summer, Amanda, Colm, and Mariah. Abby is the older girl and Harlem is the boy in the med-bus with the head wound.'

'What are you doing here?' Weaver asked, leaning on the desk.

'We've been tracking a pack of skitters through the area,' Dallon replied to this question. 'Samson led us into their camp while they were supposed to be asleep, but they weren't. We tried to fight our way out—I guess that's when Harlem got his head injury. We had to split up. I was with Samson. We were in the woods, and we came across Abby, Colm, and Harlem. We heard Jimmy and the girls with that guy, so Samson led us to them. Then he brought us here.'

'Okay,' Weaver nodded. 'Fair enough. Now the big question is what happened back there on the road, with Ben and—what was her name, Abby?'

'Yeah, Abby,' Jimmy nodded. 'When her harness was removed, some of her spikes ripped out. She almost died, and now only has seven spikes. She doesn't have the same abilities as us; she's weaker, slower, doesn't have heightened senses, but has higher than normal stamina. Also, some of the spikes she still has are broken off. Because of that, whenever she connects to someone through the spikes, it causes her pain.'

'What happened to Ben though?' Tom asked, glancing at his son standing by the door.

'When we connect with someone else with spikes, it's sometimes more than just an exchange of thoughts,' Ben replied, stepping forward. 'Sometimes it's a fuller connection than that. It can be thoughts, emotions, feelings… When Abby and I connected, it was full-strength. I could feel the pain she was feeling. I don't know how to describe it. It wasn't like I was in pain, or like my spikes were in pain, but I knew exactly how she was hurting.'

Jimmy nodded. 'It's terrible. The first time I met Abby, we connected like that. If you ask her what it feels like, she'll say it's like her back is on fire or someone has a knife buried in her spine and was dragging it down her back. When we connected, I knew that she was feeling this, and I knew how it was making her feel, but it didn't feel like my back was burning or whatever.'

Weaver scowled. 'Fine, last question: how the hell are _you_ here?'

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><p><strong>YAYYY! CHAPTER ONE! BTW, this was uploaded at the behest of BrokenSky49... So yeah.<strong>

**Also, I'm only going to disclaim once: I DO NOT OWN FALLING SKIES OR ANY OF THE FALLING SKIES CHARACTERS! However, I DO own THIS STORY, as well as Abby, Harlem, Dallon, Colm, Mariah, Amanda, and Summer. Don't steal them (without permission) or I will cry.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, yes, this one is much shorter. I'm not sure if you'd consider that good or bad... but it is.**

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><p>Abby stepped out of the med-bus and shivered, tugging her jacket tighter around her. It was cold, despite the fire flaming only a few yards away and the remnants of adrenaline continuing to pump through her system. She walked towards the fire and looked around for her pack.<p>

'Hey,' a voice called. It belonged to a tall boy with dark hair seated next to a woman with long blonde waves. 'You looking for those other kids?'

'Yeah,' Abby nodded, moving towards the duo. 'Do you know where they went?'

'Come on, I'll show you,' he said, standing up. He led her across the fire circle to one of the larger tents. 'Captain Weaver?' he called, stopping at the closed entry.

'Yeah?' a gruff voice replied.

The boy opened the tent flap and held it aside for Abby. She nodded at him in thanks and stepped inside. In front of her stood Colonel Weaver and Tom on one side of a table, her pack across from them. She noticed Ben on her left but directed her attention towards Weaver and Tom.

'Sir,' she nodded to Weaver. He gestured to her pack and she moved to stand beside Dallon, careful not to get too close to or touch Ben. Once she was standing safely with her family, she looked at Tom. 'I'm sorry for hurting your son,' she said quickly, before turning to face Ben. 'I'm so sorry.'

'From what we understand, it's not your fault,' Tom replied.

'My spikes, my fault,' she shrugged. 'I may not have damaged them or caused the connection, but I'm still responsible.'

'It's fine,' Ben spoke up from the sideline. 'I'll get over it.'

Abby nodded and turned back to Weaver and Tom.

'We were just asking Jimmy how it is he's alive,' Weaver said. 'You have any ideas? Jimmy and Dallon said you were with the rebel skitters longer than anyone else here.'

'The red-eyed one brought him,' Abby replied, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to warm up. 'It was… almost a year after everything started. He was barely breathing and had a pretty fresh wound in his stomach. I asked what was going on and they told me that the red-eyed one had injured Jimmy, but also accidently given him a parasite that made the humans think he was dead, but he didn't say why or how. They didn't want Jimmy to die, and they didn't have a lot of spike-backs at that point… so, they harnessed Jimmy.'

'The red-eyed one harnessed Jimmy!?' Ben interrupted, shocked.

'Not just Jimmy,' Abby frowned. 'They harnessed quite a few kids. Some, they rescued, if they had been abandoned or left for dead. But some they took. The red-eyed one didn't support it; he said it made them too much like the other skitters, but with Jimmy, he felt responsible.'

'I can't believe the skitter rebellion would harness kids,' Tom scowled.

'There's a dark side to the rebellion that you'll never know—that I hope you never see,' Abby looked ready to cry. 'Anyways, the kids they harnessed were kept… sedated, I guess you could say. That's why Jimmy doesn't remember anything. After a few months, they cut off the harness, woke him up, and he packed up with us—me, Colm, Amanda, Dallon, and Harlem—after that.'

Jimmy stared at Abby, open-mouthed. 'You never told me any of that!'

'The red-eyed one told me not to,' she shrugged. 'I assumed that he did and you didn't want to talk about it. No-one wants to talk about how they got harnessed.'

Jimmy sighed and looked at Weaver and Tom. 'Any other questions?'

'Dinner!' the cry sounded from outside.

'Abby, I'm hungry,' Colm stage whispered, tugging on the back of Abby's jacket.

'Shush,' Abby scolded, turning around and shooing him off of her jacket.

'No, he's right,' Tom said. 'You guys look like you're starving. Go ahead.' He turned to Ben. 'Ben, can you take them out for some food?'

'Yeah,' Ben nodded. He led the kids out of the tent and back over to the fire, where they lined up to get food. At the end of the line, Ben waited for everyone. 'Come on,' he said once Abby, the last of the group, had gone through. He led the seven kids over to where Matt and Alexis were eating. They settled down nearby, and were soon joined by Hal and Maggie.

Upon seeing Jimmy, Maggie grinned hugely and gave him a big, one-armed hug. 'Hey kid,' she grinned, settling down next to it.

'Hi, Maggie,' Jimmy grinned, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders.

'It's nice to see you,' Maggie smiled, releasing Jimmy. 'Who are your friends.'

'This is Mariah, Amanda, Summer, Colm, Abby, and Dallon,' Jimmy pointed to each in turn. 'Guys, this is Maggie. And those are Tom's sons, Hal, Matt, and Ben, who I guess you all haven't met officially yet.'

'And this is Alexis,' Matt grinned.

'She's our half-sister,' Ben added.

'So…' Jimmy looked at the girl. 'I'd guess your dad and Dr. Glass, but she looks too old for that.'

'It's a long story,' Ben shrugged. 'But yeah, Dr. Glass is her mom.'

'I was captured by aliens,' Alexis informed them, staring eerily at them. 'Also, I'm half human and half Espheni. They did something to me before I was born.'

'Wow,' Jimmy nodded slowly. 'That's a crazy story.'

'You're one special kid,' Abby smiled at Alexis.

'No more special than you,' Alexis replied, turning her stare on Abby. The smile and color drained from the older girl's face.

'Well, that was a little weird, but okay,' she said weakly. 'If you say so, sweetie.'

'I do,' Alexis replied.

Abby blinked and shook her head, as if to clear it, and returned to her food. The Mason boys grinned at her reaction.

'How old are you?' Colm asked, looking at Matt.

'I'm eleven,' Matt replied. 'How old are you?'

'I'm eight,' Colm replied proudly.

When she heard this, Maggie nearly choked on her food. 'You're eight!?" she repeated.

'Yeah,' Colm nodded, seeming confused by her reaction. 'Mariah's nine, Amanda's ten, and Summer's eleven. Harlem is fifteen, Jimmy's fifteen, Abby's seventeen, and Dallon's nineteen. Don't you believe me?'

'She's just surprised 'cos you're so young,' Jimmy said.

'So you were, what, six when the skitters came?' Maggie said, her voice hoarse.

'Yeah,' Colm nodded.

'How old were you when you were harnessed?'

'Six. I got harnessed after only a few days.' Colm replied, now plainly confused. 'Why?'

Maggie shook her head. She put down her bowl, stood up, and walked away. Hal sighed and followed her.

'What's wrong?' Colm whimpered, looking up at Abby.

'Nothing's wrong, buddy,' she soothed, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. 'It's hard for anyone to think of someone so young being taken by aliens and forced to be their slave.'

'But I'm fighting them now,' Colm said, looking around at the other kids. 'Doesn't that make it better?'

'No, buddy,' Abby sighed, pulling him into a hug. 'That just makes it worse.'

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><p><strong>Well... Yeah. Please review? Or not. That's okay too, I guess...<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**So, basically, I was planning on just uploading one scene per chapter, and then I realized that some of the scenes are super duper short... like 500 words short. So, my target is about 1500 words per chapter. Right now (I spent an hour last night dividing up the 85+ pages I have written into chapters) most of the chapters are about 1700 words. By which I mean about half of them are right around 1200... Because those just seemed like the right places to stop them. Wait, why am I explaining myself to you? I'm the writer!**

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><p>'Harlem!' Mariah shouted, pointing. Harlem had just disembarked from the med-bus with Dr. Glass.<p>

'How is he?' Abby asked Dr. Glass as Harlem wormed his way between Colm and Summer.

'He's fine, amazingly,' Dr. Glass shook her head. 'No sign of concussion. I'm shocked. There's just that wound on his head. I'd advise waking him up every few hours just to be safe, though.'

'Sure,' Abby nodded. 'Thanks.'

'Of course,' Dr. Glass replied.

'Hey, here comes Colonel Weaver and Dad,' Hal nodded towards the command tent as the two exited. 'Looks like they've decided whether or not you guys can hang around here.'

'We have,' Tom informed them, catching Hal's last comment as he and Weaver approached. 'The Colonel and I have agreed that unless Jimmy and his friends present a danger to the 2nd Mass, they can stay. And at this point, they don't.'

'So they can stay?' Dr. Glass smiled.

'Yep,' Tom nodded, stepping over kids to settle down next to his wife.

'For now,' Weaver added, glaring down at the kids. 'If anything changes though, you're out.'

'Of course,' Jimmy agreed, hopping up and saluting the colonel. 'Thank you, sir.'

Weaver paused before nodding and smiling at the boy. 'Dr. Glass, do you have some extra blankets you can lend these kids for the night? I notice they didn't bring any with them.'

'Sure thing,' Dr. Glass nodded and smiled. 'And some of them can sleep on the beds in the med-bus.'

'If the little kids can sleep in there, the rest of us can stay out here on the ground,' Abby shrugged. 'We're used to it.'

'There should be room for all but two of you,' Dr. Glass replied. 'And those two can sleep in our tent. There's enough room there for two.'

'Thank you,' Abby nodded. 'Jimmy and Dallon can go with you. I'll make sure Harlem doesn't die in his sleep.'

'Sounds like a plan,' Dr. Glass smiled. 'By the way, I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Dr. Glass, and I'd like you to call me Anne.'

'Nice to meet you,' Abby smiled. 'I'm Abby. Going around, that's Mariah, Amanda, Summer, Colm, and this is Dallon. I guess you know Jimmy, and you've met Harlem, so that's everyone.'

'Well, it's wonderful to meet you all,' Anne grinned.

'Where are you all from?' Tom asked as Weaver wandered off and Jimmy sat back down.

'I'm from Chicago,' Colm said immediately, perking up.

'Maine,' Harlem grinned. 'Up where it's nice and cold, unlike this humidity shhhhh-yeah.'

'Yeah, you watch your mouth,' Abby scowled, reaching around Colm to smack Harlem on the back of the head.

'Sorry,' Harlem whined.

'I'm from Virginia,' Amanda smiled. 'I like this weather.'

'I'm from Kansas,' Mariah added.

'New Jersey,' Summer chirped.

'Pssh, easterners,' Dallon teased. 'Whereas _I _hail from the good-old West Coast state of California.'

'California?' Tom repeated, astonished. 'How did you end up over here?'

'I don't really know,' Dallon shrugged. 'My family was visiting friends in Oregon when the skitters landed. We got separated pretty quick, and I just ran the direction I was facing. I guess I was going east-ish, cos I somehow ended up in this area when I got harnessed. One thing led to another, and I got rescued by the rebellion, deharnessed, and packed up with these losers. Now I'm here.'

'That's a pretty amazing story,' Tom shook his head.

'I'm pretty proud of it,' Dallon grinned.

'Where are you from?' Ben asked, leaning around Dallon to look at Abby.

'Uh, Pennsylvania,' Abby shrugged. 'One of the most boring states in America. Home of the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch.'

'Actually, the Pennsylvania Dutch aren't Dutch—' Tom started.

'They're German,' Abby grinned. 'From the Rhine Valley region. Yeah, I know. I am Pennsylvania Dutch. My family's from Germany, only a few generations back. But, most people just get confused or correct you if you say Pennsylvania German, so I just stick with "Dutch".'

'Good point,' Tom laughed. 'Should've figured you'd know all about that if you're from Pennsylvania.'

'You'd have been surprised by how few people born and raised in P-A knew about that,' Abby shook her head. 'Kinda sad.'

'As a former history professor, that saddens me greatly, yes,' Tom laughed.

'You were a history professor?' Abby repeated. 'Where did you teach?'

'Boston University,' Tom replied.

'Cool,' Abby nodded.

'As fun as this conversation is, it's getting late,' Anne said. 'It's about time to head to bed. Everyone could use some rest, especially if we're moving out tomorrow, and it looks like we are.' She stood up and looked down at the pack of kids sitting on the ground. 'Whoever is sleeping in the med-bus can come with me and I'll get you settled down, and Tom can take the other two to our tent. I'll bring blankets with me when I'm done in the bus.'

'Thanks,' Abby said, standing up. 'We really appreciate it, everything you're doing for us.'

'Of course,' Anne smiled. 'Come one.'

Abby, Summer, Amanda, Mariah, Colm, and Harlem followed Anne back to the med-bus while Tom rounded up his children, Maggie, Jimmy, and Dallon and led them towards a group of tents across the fire circle from the med-bus.

'There is a couch in the back that someone can sleep on,' Anne said as she opened a cabinet and started pulling out blankets. 'There are these two cots, plus the one up there. I figure two of the little ones can sleep in the back, and the other two can sleep on one of the cots, and you and Harlem can take the other two cots.'

'Yeah, that'll work,' Abby nodded. 'If two of them don't fit on the cot, someone can just sleep on the floor.'

'Okay,' Anne nodded. 'There's plenty of blankets in here if you guys get cold, and our tent is the big blue and grey one in the group across the fire circle in case you need anything. I'm going to go and settle Jimmy and Dallon down. You guys can just get comfortable here.'

'Thank you so much,' Abby smiled. 'We really appreciate this.'

'It's no problem,' Anne smiled. 'If you guys decide to stick around, we'll see about finding you a tent.'

'Thanks,' Abby smiled.

'Good night,' Anne waved as she left the bus, bearing several blankets.

'Good night,' Abby called after her before shutting the bus door. She turned to the other kids. 'I'll take the bed in the front. Harlem, you take one of the other beds, and Summer, you can take the other one. Mariah and Amanda, you can sleep in the back. Colm, you can sleep with Summer, Harlem, or me, or you can sleep on the floor.'

'I'll sleep with Summer,' Colm sighed. 'You have to wake Harlem up.'

'That's right,' Abby nodded. 'Thanks for reminding me, buddy.'

The kids scattered to their different beds while Abby pulled blankets out of the cupboard Anne had indicated. She spread one over Harlem, who fell asleep as soon as he laid down, first, then moved over to Summer and Colm, tucking a blanket around each of them. She grabbed two more blankets before moving to the back of the bus to tuck them around Amanda and Mariah. Finally, she grabbed a blanket for herself and settled down on the cot at the front of the med-bus.

'Hey, okay, enough!' Tom scolded. 'Time for bed,' he said, pulling Matt off of Hal after the two had started wrestling. Alexis was already sound asleep in her cot, and Maggie had lain down on the mattress pads she and Hal shared. Ben sat at the end of his cot, laughing at his brothers, while Jimmy sat on the ground next to him. Dallon sat further up on Ben's cot, smirking at the antics of the youngest and oldest Mason boys. All of the boys were shirtless, Ben, Jimmy, and Dallon displaying rough 'Matt, get to bed.'

With a sigh, Matt walked the three feet to his cot, next to Ben's, and sat down on it before pulling off his boots. 'Ben, you too,' Tom said as Hal flopped down next to Maggie and kicked off his shoes.

'Jimmy and I are going to sleep on the ground,' Ben replied. 'Dallon can have my cot.'

'Whatever,' Tom shook his head. Ben slipped off of the cot and onto the ground next to Jimmy, allowing Dallon to lie down on the narrow bed.

Tom sat down on the mattress pads that formed his and Anne's bed and began pulling off his boots. He watched Ben and Jimmy speak softly and trade a few light punches before Ben got his arm around Jimmy's shoulders and put him in a headlock. Dallon joined in the interaction, speaking just as quietly and laughing at the other boys. Tom's smile faltered slightly as he saw Ben and Jimmy's spikes light up briefly and fade.

Anne entered the tent carrying two sleeping bags and a few blankets, the latter tucked under one arm. Her entry put a complete stop to all of the antics going on in the tent, including Matt and Hal surreptitiously throwing dirty socks back and forth at one another when they thought their father wasn't looking. 'So, the sleeping arrangements have changed?' she observed teasingly as Dallon tugged the blanket on Ben's cot further up his body, which was longer than the younger boy's.

'Yeah,' Ben grinned up at her.

'Well, just make sure you guys actually sleep,' Anne smiled, handing a blanket and a sleeping bag each to the two boys on the floor. She joined Tom on their bed as Ben and Jimmy unrolled the sleeping bags and settled down on top of them, snuggling down under the blankets. She watched them whisper for a few more seconds until Tom stepped in front of her, reaching up to turn off the lantern suspended from the center of the tent's ceiling. Tom kicked a stray sock towards Matt's bed and switched off the lantern. Orange light from the dying fire outside seeped through the opening of the tent flaps in the front.

Suddenly, a bright blue light flared up from the floor near the door. There were a few snickers, followed by a stage whisper from Maggie: 'Who's there?'

'It's Jimmy,' Ben replied, sounding half strangled in an attempt to hold in his laughter.

'Jimmy, I hate to break it to ya, man, but you're glowing,' Hal whispered teasingly.

'Yeah, yeah, I'll go outside,' Jimmy sighed. They saw him stand, silhouetted against the glowing firelight outside the tent. 'Where's my shirt?'

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><p><strong>BrokenSky49: your reviews are insane. They make me laugh. Keep it up ;P<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! So, this chapter is slightly short... and, reading back over, there isn't much going on... But don't worry! Next chapter, things start to get interesting! (I think...)**

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><p>The next morning, Tom was less than surprised to find Ben, Jimmy, and Dallon gone, their blankets and sleeping bags neatly rolled up and folded. As quietly as possible, so as not to wake his family, Tom stood, grabbing his boots, coat, and gun belt, and tip-toed out of the tent. He looked around outside as he put on his boots and jacket, then strapped the gun belt on as he walked towards the fire circle. The fire had already been lit, and Pope was starting to cook breakfast over it. Tom spotted the three boys across the circle at the med-bus. As he neared them, he observed the dynamic of the trio and Abby. Abby was seated on the ground with her back to the front tire of the med-bus. Ben was leaning against the bus next to Abby, and Jimmy was sitting on the ground next to him. Dallon crouched in a ready position between Abby and Jimmy, Abby's feet resting on his knees. All four of the teenagers wore varying expressions of seriousness and alarm.<p>

'Hey,' Tom called as he approached. 'What's up?'

'Hey, Dad,' Ben replied. 'Morning.'

'Good morning, Professor,' Jimmy smiled wanly.

'Is something wrong?' Tom asked, looking around the circle at the grim faces.

'No, it's fine,' Abby replied quickly.

'Does it have something to do with what happened to you last night, Jimmy?' Tom pressed.

Jimmy sighed and glanced up at Ben before replying. 'Kind of, yeah.'

'Who was it?' Tom asked.

'Samson,' Jimmy replied.

'Who's Samson?' Tom asked.

'Samson is one of the high-ups in the skitter rebellion,' Ben replied. 'He was harnessed for so long that he's more skitter than human now. He has four legs, and his hands and feet are skitter. Most of his face is skitter too, but he still has human eyes, nose, and mouth. His head is shaped like a skitter's, but he has a ton of black dreads too.'

'So pretty recognizable, huh?' Tom remarked. 'What does he have to do with Jimmy's spikes lighting up last night?'

'Samson was the one who connected with me and cause them to light up,' Jimmy explained. 'He told me to meet him in the morning. This morning, Abby and Ben and I went out to find him.'

'What happened?' Tom prompted.

'He doesn't want us to stay here,' Abby sighed. 'Basically. He wants us to go back to the rebellion and keep fighting.'

'What did you say?' Tom asked.

'We said no,' Jimmy replied. 'But Samson doesn't like it if you tell him no.'

'He said they can stay with us for a little while, but he's going to come back for them to carry out some sort of attack with the rebel skitters,' Ben finished.

'Well, if you don't want to go with him then, you don't have to,' Tom reassured them.

'You don't know Samson,' Dallon said suddenly, standing and dumping Abby's legs onto the ground.

'You guys are scared of him, aren't you?' Tom asked, looking at the faces of the teenagers around him.

'Hells yeah,' Abby said angrily, jumping to her feet. 'Samson is terrifying. The skitters aren't bad. They treat us like tools, yeah, but they're… I don't know, nicer about it. I don't know how to explain it. But Samson? Samson could care less. To him, we're disposable, expendable. It sounds like they think the same way, but they don't. Samson is ruthless and harsh and cold and uncaring.'

'Dad, you don't understand,' Ben sighed. 'It's not something we could explain, no matter how hard we try.'

'Okay, okay,' Tom nodded, raising his hands in surrender. 'I'll take your word for it. But if you guys don't want to leave when Samson comes back, we will defend you. They won't force you.'

'Thanks for the thought, Professor,' Jimmy sighed, standing.

'On the bright side, Samson brought our gear,' Abby said, changing the subject. 'We now have clean clothing and our guns.'

'Yeah, I noticed,' Tom laughed. He eyed Abby up. She had swapped her grey and black clothes of the night before for a bright yellow and grey striped long-sleeved shirt under an equally bright yellow t-shirt and dark jeans. 'You're a sight for sore eyes. Or, more accurately, a sight to make eyes sore.'

Abby laughed at the comment and shook her head. 'I can live with that,' she grinned.

Seeing her in proper lighting, Tom was able to get a better view of the girl. She was short, around five feet, and athletically built. She had long, mostly straight, deep red hair that nearly reached her waist, and big, round, chocolate brown eyes. Hidden in the nest of her hair were several brightly colored woven braids. Shorter pieces of hair in the front, over her face, were pulled back this morning, revealing a pale, thin face with pink cheeks, a button nose, and a smattering of dark freckles. She was rather pretty, Tom realized.

Dallon had overgrown dark brown hair and wide dark eyes. His hair almost concealed high, sharp cheekbones, dark circles around his eyes, and a long hook nose. He seemed to have a frown permanently plastered on his narrow face. He was tall and skinny, but, like the other harnessed kids, had a sort of feline grace about him, as well clearly defined muscles under his skin.

Jimmy had changed since the last time Tom saw him lying pale and still on a gurney in the med-bus. His skin was darker and more weathered, and his hair longer and lighter. Currently, he had pulled his hair into a short ponytail. He was taller, thinner, and more muscular. Tom swallowed when he noticed the bumps of spikes running down Jimmy's spine and the uncovered ones at the nape of his neck.

'Sounds like the other kids woke up,' Ben said suddenly, pushing away from the med-bus.

Summer poked her head out the door and looked around before spotting the group. 'Abby! Where did our clothes come from?'

'Samson brought them to me and Jimmy this morning,' Abby replied. 'Get dressed and come outside.'

Summer ducked back inside the bus as Colm came running out. He wore a pair of olive green, dirt-stained cargo pants and a long-sleeved Iron Man t-shirt with holes in the elbows. His sneakers were old and ratty, with fraying laces and held together by duct tape. 'Abby! Hi!' he giggled, flinging himself on the girl.

'Oof,' Abby groaned as he slammed into her. 'Gosh, buddy, you're heavy. Tackle Jimmy or Dallon. You're too big for me.'

'No I'm not,' Colm laughed. 'You're just saying that cos that's what people say to kids my age.'

'Good morning!' Mariah sang as she and Amanda emerged from the bus. Mariah wore a long pink shirt with ruffles at the bottom, stained with dirt and torn at the collar, with grey and black striped leggings. Amanda wore patched jeans and a blue hoodie with brown sneakers that were in only slightly better shape than Colm's.

The two girls scampered over to stand between Jimmy and Dallon as Harlem left the bus. His dark blond hair was matted and dirty, and his face was stained with dirt. He wore a red sweatshirt over a Star Wars t-shirt and jeans with muddy work boots. He had green eyes and freckles, and stared suspiciously at Tom.

'How are you feeling this morning, Harlem?' Anne asked, approaching from behind Tom with Alexis on her hip and Matt in tow.

'Fine, ma'am,' Harlem replied. 'Head's all better.'

'Good,' Anne smiled. 'I'd like to check you out again later, just to be on the safe side, but for now, let's get some breakfast. Pope looks like he'll be done any minute.'

'Breakfast sounds great,' Abby grinned, hoisting Colm up onto her hip.

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><p><strong>Okayyy! I'm not sure when I'll upload the next chapter... Fun fact about this fic: I currently have written 104 pages for it. That's 38,943. It's divided up into 21 chapters. It's actually longer than the book I've written. I feel like that's kind of sad, considering I've only spent about a week on it...<strong>

**Anyways, today was the first day of my second semester of college! Yay... yeah, but now that that's started, I'm not sure how regularly I'll be updating this or Not All Who Wander are Lost... This should be pretty frequent, since I already have so much written, but yeah. Have a good day, everyone! Reviews are APPRECIATED! *wink, wink, nudge, nudge***


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! So, I'm almost finished with this whole actual fic; it should be around 25 chapters... So, I'll continue updating at least pseudo-regularly for the next few weeks :3 Once I actually finish it, I plan to start a sequel! So, if you like this one, stay tuned for that... I plan to leave this off on a cliffhanger, so hopefully that will make you all come back for the next part *MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA***

**But yeah, the semester has started and I have craploads of work for my Lit classes (not to mention my philosophy class, and German...) so I'm going to try to update 1-3 times a week, depending how much I write that week/the week before and assuming I don't forget...**

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><p>'How often do you do this?' Abby grunted as she helped Anne and Maggie lift one of the cots from the Masons' tent onto the top of the med-bus where Ben and Jimmy were waiting to pull the wooden frame up.<p>

'Every few days, usually about a week to a week and a half,' Anne replied with a shrug. 'When we're on the road, we don't usually unpack like this, but we needed time to check on the terrain ahead, so we set up camp in this clearing.'

'Huh,' Abby nodded as they hoisted the next cot up. 'Man, these things are heavier than they look.'

'Please,' Jimmy teased. 'You could probably carry one single-handed.'

'Yeah, carry,' Abby shot back. 'Not tote them around over my head like a water jug.'

'A water jug?' Jimmy repeated as he and Ben grabbed the cot and pulled it up.

'Yeah, you know, like in Africa?' Abby replied. 'The stereotypical woman walking around with a big jug of water or basket of fruit on her head.'

'Oh, yeah,' Jimmy nodded. 'Totally get the analogy.'

'Mom!' called Matt.

'What, Matt?' Anne replied.

'Lexie has a cut,' Matt yelled back.

'Is it bad?' Anne called.

'Not too bad,' Matt replied.

'I'll look at it in a few minutes,' Anne decided. 'Just keep an eye on her, okay?'

'Yeah,' Matt called.

'Hey, Mom, is there anything else that needs to come up here?' Ben called down from the top of the med-bus.

'Uh, no, I don't think so, Ben,' Anne replied. 'You guys can come down now.'

Ben and Jimmy easily leapt from the top of the bus to the ground, landing beside Abby.

'Hey, Abby, you wanna come help me strap some tarps over that pickup?' Maggie called, pointing towards a pickup piled with tents and other gear.

'Yeah, sure,' Abby agreed, following Maggie over to the truck.

Ben watched the two girls walk away, and Jimmy watched him. 'Hey, watch it,' Jimmy teased, whacking Ben in the ribs.

'What?' Ben asked, looking at his friend.

'That's my sister!' Jimmy laughed.

'Wha—' Ben started. 'I wasn't—you know—augh, shut up.'

Jimmy laughed and ducked away from a swat from Ben.

'I wouldn't do that,' Ben grumbled, aiming another series of blows towards Jimmy, which the latter dodged easily.

'Whatever you say,' Jimmy laughed.

'Jimmy!' Weaver called, standing a few feet away from the boys. 'There's someone I'd like you to meet.'

Jimmy glanced at Ben before joining Weaver near the dismantled fire circle. 'Jimmy, this is my daughter, Jeanne. Jeanne, this is Jimmy.'

'Nice to meet you,' Jimmy smiled, extending his hand to shake Jeanne's.

'It's great to meet you too,' Jeanne said genuinely. 'My father's told me so much about you. You have no idea how happy he was last night.'

Jimmy glanced at Weaver in surprised. The man shifted slightly, turning slightly red at the comment. 'It's good to have you back, Jimmy,' Weaver admitted.

'It's great to be back,' Jimmy grinned.

'Everybody, load up!' Weaver called as the last few pieces of gear were being fastened down onto trucks.

'Come on,' Ben prompted Jimmy, leading him towards the med-bus. 'We have to figure out where you guys are riding.'

'Ben, Jimmy!' Anne called. 'Come on.' The two boys hurried over to where Anne was standing with Tom, Hal, and Maggie at the front of the med-bus. 'Okay, so, most of the kids are riding in the med-bus,' Anne explained. 'Alexis, Matt, Summer, Amanda, Mariah, and Colm definitely, and I think Harlem too. I'm not sure about Abby or Dallon, or the two of you, obviously.'

'Jimmy!' Weaver called, approaching. 'I was wondering if you'd like to ride with me and Jeannie.'

'Uh, sure,' Jimmy nodded, glancing at Ben and Anne. 'If that's okay.'

'Of course it is,' Anne said. 'We're short on room in the med-bus anyways.'

'Okay,' Jimmy nodded.

As Jimmy walked away, Hal suggested: 'Why don't Ben and Abby ride with me and Maggie? You should have room for Dallon in the bus, right?'

'Yeah, that would work,' Anne nodded. 'So long as you two don't mind riding shotgun on the motorcycles, at least until lunch. Maybe then you can switch out with someone else or we can find somewhere else for you.'

Abby nodded. 'I'm fine with that.'

'Yeah, same,' Ben agreed.

'Dallon, do you mind riding with the kids in the bus?' Abby teased, elbowing him in the ribs.

'Nah, it's fine,' Dallon shrugged. 'Harlem and I could switch out with you two when we stop, if that's fine.'

'Yeah, that would work,' Hal nodded. 'Let's go; we need to move out.'

Ben and Abby followed Hal and Maggie to where their bikes were waiting as Tom, Anne, and Dallon boarded the bus. They mounted the bikes, Ben behind Hal and Abby behind Maggie, as the other vehicles roared and chugged to life around them. Maggie and Hal kicked their bikes to ignition, the motorcycles giving off sputtering roars as they started.

'Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?' Maggie asked Abby over her shoulder.

'No,' Abby replied, wrapping her arms around Maggie's waist.

'It's fun,' Maggie grinned. 'Just don't hold on too tight.'

'Okay,' Abby gulped, loosening her grip slightly. 'Is now a good time to mention I get motion sickness?'

'No,' Maggie called as they roared to the front of the caravan, the wind stealing her voice from Abby's ears.

'Oh,' Abby said. 'Well, I get motion sickness sometimes, Maggie.'

'Hey!' Anne smiled as Hal, Maggie, Ben, and Abby joined her, Tom, and the rest of the kids at the med-bus when the caravan stopped for lunch. 'How were the motorcycles?'

'Bumpy,' Ben sighed, plopping down on the ground between Matt and Alexis.

'Well, they weren't actually made to carry two people,' Hal laughed. 'They're one-person dirtbikes. Sure there's room for two, but there's not supposed to be two on them. At least not for any length of time.'

'Oh, now you tell me,' Ben replied sarcastically.

'Here you go,' Tom grinned. He handed bowls of food to his sons and Harlem handed some to Abby and Maggie. 'Eat up.'

'Do you want to switch out with Dallon and Harlem?' Anne asked, glancing between Ben and Abby.

'Yes,' Abby answered immediately.

'Yeah,' Ben nodded.

'I'm not sure I want to switch out anymore,' Dallon sighed, earning him a death glare and punch on the shoulder from Abby. 'Ow. I was kidding.'

'Right,' Abby rolled her eyes.

'On the bright side, we've found a good campsite for the next few days,' Tom informed them. 'There's a big clearing a decent way off the main road that we'll be stopping in. Scouts say there's a water source nearby and there's no fresh signs of skitters.'

'That could just mean a patrol hasn't been by in a while,' Hal cautioned.

'Yeah, but that in and of itself means that they don't pay much, if any, attention to the area,' Tom defended. 'It'll be fine for a day or two; we'll just have to stay alert.'

Ben nodded. 'I agree. When we get there, I can check and make sure there's nothing close.'

'Good idea,' Tom nodded. 'I'll let Weaver know.'

'Do you mean with your spikes?' Harlem asked. 'By listening for the skitter's radio waves?'

'Yeah,' Ben nodded. 'Can you guys hear them too?'

'Uh-huh,' Harlem nodded. 'We can help.'

'Sure,' Ben agreed. 'That would be great. We can cover more ground faster.'

'Yeah' Abby nodded. 'We can each take a direction and go a few hundred yards. We can go out further than if it's just one person. We'll all help.'

'Thanks,' Ben smiled.

'Yeah, thank you,' Tom nodded. 'That'll make the whole group safer. I'll tell your idea to Weaver and just clear it with him, but that should be fine.'

'Come on, hurry up and eat,' Anne prompted. 'It looks like Weaver wants to get moving.'

Tom stood up, collecting a few empty dishes from the kids, and walked towards Weaver, presumably to suggest the scouting idea to him. The rest of the group finished up their lunch and cleaned out their bowls as well as they could before returning the bowls to the half-full sack that carried them. The dishes would be properly washed when they made camp that night, but for now they would have to wait. Once the dishes had been loaded into the bag, the Anne herded the smaller children to the med-bus and Hal and Maggie returned to the bikes, taking Harlem and Dallon with them.

'Hey,' Ben said, catching Abby's attention.

'Yeah?' she replied, her distant expression focusing on his face.

'Have you ever ridden on top of a bus?' Ben asked.

'Um, no?' Abby replied with a laugh. 'Why?'

'Well, the inside of the med-bus is pretty cramped right now,' Ben explained. 'Sometimes my dad lets me and Matt ride on top of it. I figured that, even though it's kind of cold, it would be better to ride up there. If you want.'

'Sure,' Abby agreed. 'How do we get up?'

'Jump,' Ben shrugged.

'Yeah, I can't jump that high,' Abby laughed. 'Damaged spikes, remember?'

'That's right,' Ben nodded thoughtfully. 'Do you think you could jump high enough that I could grab your hands and pull you up?'

Abby stared at the bus. 'Yeah, probably.'

'Okay,' Ben grinned. 'I'll just check with my parents and borrow some blankets from Anne.'

**YAYYY! I hope you liked it :3**

**Also, I know you guys are reading this, so I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed!1!1! So far, only BrokenSky49 has reviewed... And she's my roommate, so she doesn't have a choice, which is why the word 'awesomesauce' is in 3/4 of them... ;P So, this is my shameless pleading for reviews...**

**ALSO, I may soon be the proud mother of a fish. This is exciting. =D Take my word for it.**


	6. Chapter 6

***Le gasp* I'm publishing two chapters in one day!? What is this!? Well, technically, chapter 5 was published yesterday, so... Anyways, I finished the fic (FIRST FIC I'VE EVER COMPLETELY FINISHED!) so this is a celebratory chapter. Wahoo!**

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><p>'Here!' Abby called. Ben had already climbed to the top of the bus and was waiting for her to toss up the two blankets they had borrowed from Anne. She waited until he had turned towards her to toss up the rolled-up blankets. Ben caught them and placed them behind him on the walled-in rack on top of the med-bus.<p>

'Ready?' he called down to Abby.

'Yeah,' she sighed backing up a few feet. She took a deep breath and ran towards the bus, reaching up to grab onto Ben's hands. He caught her as she slammed into the side of the bus with a crash, eliciting surprised shouts from the occupants. With some difficulty due to the awkward position, Ben pulled Abby the rest of the way up. She helped as much as she could, her feet scrabbling for purchase against the smooth side of the bus. Ben moved one hand from her wrist to her bicep as she reached the top and pulled her the rest of the way into the basket, sending the two of them tumbling backwards in a tangle of arms and legs.

'Everyone okay up there?' Tom called from below them, sounding like he was withholding laughter.

'We're fine, Dad,' Ben called back, slightly winded by the fact that Abby was laying on his chest.

'Sorry,' Abby whispered, lifting herself off of Ben.

'You're fine,' he laughed as they disentangled themselves. 'Hal and Dallon found it very amusing.'

Abby laughed. 'That was one of my least graceful moments since I was spiked. And I bet it was funny.'

'Yeah,' Ben grinned. 'Here,' he added, handing her one of the blankets.

'Thanks,' Abby smiled gratefully, wrapping it around her shoulders. 'It feels even colder than it was this morning.'

'Maybe it is,' Ben shrugged. 'It feels kind of like there's a storm coming in.'

Abby looked around. 'There is,' she nodded. 'Or rain, at least.'

'How do you know?'

'Look at the leaves,' she said, pointing at the trees around them. 'See how the wind is flipping them upside down? That means it's going to rain. It's something my grandma always said.'

'I don't understand how the leaves turning over means it's going to rain,' Ben said.

'It's something with the way the wind blows when the rain is coming in,' Abby shrugged. 'I don't know why exactly, I just know it mean rain.'

Ben nodded. 'I guess we'll find out,' he said, sounding skeptical.

'It'll rain,' Abby replied, confidant. 'I don't know when, how hard, or how long, but it's going to rain. I hope it waits until we get to camp. I don't want to get stuck up here in the rain.'

'I told you it was going to rain,' Abby said sourly. She and Ben were huddled together under the damp blankets on top of the med-bus.

'Yeah, you win,' he replied.

'We're probably going to get sick now,' she said.

'Just be glad we're not on the motorcycles anymore,' he assured her. 'Trust me, that is not fun in a downpour like this.'

'I hope we're near that clearing your dad mentioned,' Abby sighed, shivering as a drop of water seeped through the blankets and trickled down her spine.

'I think so,' Ben said, peering out from under the blankets. 'The rain may have slowed us down, but I do think we're close. We were supposed to reach the clearing a few hours after lunch, I think, and it's been almost five.'

'That's some interesting logic,' Abby teased.

'No, I think they said three or four hours at lunch,' Ben shook his head. 'The rain hasn't slowed us down too much, so it shouldn't be too much further.'

'I really hope not,' Abby shivered.

'I told you we weren't far,' Ben said triumphantly as the med-bus trundled into the clearing.

'I feel like we've been playing "I told you so" since we got up here,' Abby sighed.

Ben winced, shifting the blankets over the two. 'Do you hear that?'

'What?' Abby replied. 'Oh. Skitter radio? Yeah, I just tuned in.'

'That means there's a lot of them, and they're close,' Ben said grimly. 'We can't stay here.

'There's no way we're getting back out to the road with all that mud,' Abby replied. 'We should let your dad know and go check it out. With this rain we can't even tell if they were here already or not.'

'I know,' Ben said, squinting towards the ground. 'And with the vehicles coming in the ground has been so disturbed that we couldn't see the tracks anyways.'

The two lurched forward as the med-bus shrieked to a stop. 'Come on,' Ben said, standing up and flinging the blankets off of his shoulders. 'Can you jump down?'

'Yeah,' Abby nodded, standing. The two walked to the edge of the basket and leapt towards the ground. Unfortunately, the rain had turned the ground into a mud slop, and they both landed with a squelch, their feet slipping out from beneath them, and crashed onto their backs with a loud splat.

'Ugh,' Abby groaned, sitting up. 'So disgusting.'

'It's just mud,' Ben shrugged, slipping to his feet and reaching down to pull Abby up. 'It'll wash off. For now, let's just deal with the skitters.'

'The radio chatter is fading,' Abby pointed out.

'Doesn't mean anything,' Ben shrugged. 'They could just be settling down for the night.'

'True,' Abby nodded. The two looked towards the med-bus and squinted as the door opened and light shone out from the interior.

'Oh my god, you two are _not_ coming in here like that!' Anne exclaimed.

'Dad!' Ben called, trudging through the mud to the bus. 'There are skitters nearby,' he spluttered as the downpour increased. 'A lot of them. We can hear their radio waves, but we can't tell if it's the rebels or not.'

'Great,' Tom groaned. 'There's no way we'll be able to get back to the road with this mud.'

'Stay in the bus,' Ben said. 'Power down as much as possible. We're going to talk to Weaver, maybe grab Jimmy and Dallon and Harlem, then head out to scout the skitters.'

'Are you sure?' Tom asked. 'Maybe we can just hunker down here for the night.

'No,' Ben shook his head. 'We need to know now. We'll be fine, Dad.'

'Okay,' Tom nodded. 'Stay safe. Send Hal and Maggie over here if you see them.'

'Okay,' Ben agreed. He turned and joined Abby, and the two trucked through the mud in the direction of the head of the convoy.

'Colonel!' Ben called when they reached the truck. He could see Weaver standing outside of it in the gloom, talking to Jimmy, Hal, Maggie, Dallon, and Harlem.

'Ben, Abby,' Weaver nodded. 'We're staying in the vehicles tonight. We'll set up camp in the morning.'

'Sir, there's a group of skitters nearby,' Ben interrupted.

'Skitters?' Weaver repeated. 'Scouts cleared the area.'

'How do you know?'

'We picked up their radio chatter when we pulled into the clearing,' Ben replied.

'Harlem and I didn't hear anything,' Dallon said.

'We were on the other side of the clearing,' Abby replied. 'Maybe you guys weren't close enough. I can't hear it anymore.'

'She's right,' Ben agreed. 'Either way, we can't just ignore it. Let us go check it out.'

'We can at least determine if it's rebels or not,' Abby added.

'By "we" who do you mean?' Weaver asked.

'Me, Abby, Jimmy, Dallon, and Harlem,' Ben replied. 'We can move faster and quieter than anyone else, and more easily.'

Weaver nodded reluctantly. 'Fine. Report to me when you get back.'

'Yes, sir,' Ben nodded.

Weaver opened the door of the truck and climbed in. 'Hal, Maggie, Mom and Dad said you guys should go to the med-bus,' Ben added.

'Okay,' Hal nodded. 'Be careful.'

'Yeah,' Ben smiled. Hal and Maggie began to trudge towards the med-bus while the spiked kids remained near the truck.

'Do we at least have a plan?' Dallon asked crossly.

'We walk in, fan out when we get near, and get close enough to tell whether or not the skitters are rebels,' Ben replied.

Dallon shrugged. 'Better than nothing.' He sighed heavily. 'Which way?'

'That way,' Ben pointed, and the five set off in the direction he indicated.

'What do you think?' Abby whispered, squinting through the rain. 'I can't see enough from here.'

'Rebels,' Ben replied. 'Definitely. I see lots of spiked kids. I think I recognize a couple.'

A rustle sounded in the bushes to their left, and Jimmy and Harlem stepped through.

'Verdict?' Ben asked.

'Rebels,' Jimmy replied. 'We saw Samson.'

'As soon as Dallon gets back, we can head back to the clearing,' Ben said, looking back down on the skitter camp.

'I'm here,' Dallon said, stepping through the foliage to the right. 'They're rebels. And it looks like they're moving away from the clearing anyways.'

'Great,' Ben said. 'All agreed.'

'Let's go back,' Harlem shivered. 'It's wet. And cold. And did I mention wet?'

'Shut up,' Abby teased, whacking him in the shoulder. 'The rain's stopping anyways.'

The five teenagers set off in the direction of their clearing. The reached it faster than they had taken to get to the skitter camp, grateful for the slowing rain.

As they stepped into the clearing, the rain stopped. 'Seriously!?' Dallon exclaimed, flinging out his arms.

'Deal with it,' Jimmy retorted, jabbing him with the butt of his gun.

'Let's just report to Colonel Weaver,' Ben said. 'Then we can get back to the med-bus and find some dry clothes.'

'I like that plan,' Harlem grumbled.

'Me too,' Abby agreed.

The five teenagers trekked through the ankle-deep mud to the truck containing Colonel Weaver and Jeanne. When he saw them approach, he opened the door and climbed out, landing in the mud with a squelch. 'Well?' he called.

'They're rebels,' Ben replied. 'We think they're headed away from here, too.'

'Good,' Weaver nodded. 'You guys can check again in the morning, and if you still believe that, we'll set up camp.'

Ben nodded in agreement after looking at the others and receiving various shrugs and nods of conformation.

'Head back to the med-bus,' Weaver instructed. 'Get yourselves cleaned up and fed, and try to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning.'

'Yes, sir,' Ben nodded. He and the others turned and started their trek for the med-bus, but Weaver stopped them with:

'If you need somewhere to sleep, you can bring a tarp and cover the truckbed,' Weaver called after them. 'That bus might be a little cramped.'

'Just a little,' Ben called back with a laugh. 'Thanks.'

As they  
>reapproached the med-bus, the door opened, revealing Anne standing with her arms crossed.<p>

'You are _not_ coming in here like that,' she said sternly. 'I will give you clothes, and you can change. I'll give you a blanket and you can hold it up for one another.'

The teens traded glances as Anne picked up two backpacks from the floor behind her and tossed them out. 'There are some clothes, and there's a blanket in one.'

Abby opened the bag she had caught. 'The clothes are just what I could find around here that looked like they would fit,' Anne added. 'Hurry up. It's late, and everyone needs sleep.'

The five made their way to the back of the bus. 'Abby, did you find anything you think will fit?' Jimmy asked. 'You're the smallest, so it'll be hardest for you.'

'Um, a pair of sweatpants with a drawstring, and a plaid button-up that looks kind of big,' she replied. 'There's another pair of sweats in here that might be the only thing that will fit Dallon since he's so tall and skinny.'

'Yeah,' Dallon sighed. 'Nothing in here will fit me,' he added, handing his bag to Jimmy.

'Here,' Abby said, handing her bag to Dallon sans the pants and shirt she had claimed.

'This is a big blanket,' Harlem said as he and Ben started to unfold it.

'Two of us can hold it along our backs so that it's sort of a "v" against the bus, and someone can stand in there and change,' Ben suggested.

'That'll work,' Jimmy agreed.

'Here,' said Dallon, handing the second bag to Jimmy. He held up a t-shirt and the sweatpants Abby had mentioned. 'This'll do.

'You can go first,' Ben said.

'Yeah, you're the tallest, so we need you to hold the blanket,' Abby laughed.

'You guys are so short I'm gonna have to double over to stay decent,' Dallon grumbled.

'Just go,' Abby sighed. 'I'm freezing in this wet stuff, and I think the mud is starting to harden.'

'Fine,' Dallon groaned. He stepped against the back of the bus and waited until Ben and Harlem raised the blanket. 'You guys are so short,' he complained

'Deal with it,' Harlem growled.

'It's not our fault you're a seven-foot-tall giant,' Abby added.

'Hurry up,' Jimmy said, shifting his weight. 'We're all freezing.'

'Done,' said Dallon, stepping out from behind the blanket as he pulled on his shirt. 'Next.'

'Abby, go ahead,' said Harlem.

Abby nodded and stepped behind the blanket once Dallon had traded places with Harlem. She pulled her shirts of quickly, pausing as they got tangled in her long hair. 'Ow. I should cut my hair.'

'You have pretty hair,' Jimmy said absently as he found clothes that would fit him and handed the bags to Harlem.

'It's a pain,' Abby sighed, freeing her hair from the shirts. 'It gets dirty so quick, gets tangled in my clothes and branches when I'm in the woods, and ends up a knotty mess after a few days of living like this.'

'Then cut it,' Harlem replied.

'Thing is, it's taken me five years to get it this long,' Abby replied. 'My mom and sister didn't think I'd ever be able to keep it longer than my shoulders, so I swore I'd grow it out to my waist. It's not there yet, and it's almost like that's the last thing I have left of them.'

'Are you getting all sentimental about your _hair_?' Dallon groaned, shifting where he stood.

'Yep,' Abby replied.

'You're acting like a girl,' Dallon said, rolling his eyes.

'Maybe that's because I am a girl,' Abby shot back, stepping out.

Jimmy and Harlem burst out laughing when they saw her. 'Nice,' Harlem laughed. Ben and Dallon peered at her and smiled themselves.

Abby stood, dressed in much too large sweatpants that she had rolled up several times at the bottom and an oversized plaid button-up shirt with half of the sleeves ripped off. She glared at the boys. 'Shut it. Next.'

She switched places with Ben, making the blanket very uneven due to the almost two-foot height difference between her and Dallon as Jimmy stepped behind the blanket. He changed quickly into a green and white rugby shirt and sports warm-up pants and stepped out to take Abby's place.

Harlem changed almost as quickly as Jimmy had, emerging in jeans that looked too big for him and a Chincoteague Island hoodie. Ben ducked behind the blanket and emerged wearing jeans and another plaid-button up. 'I look like a hick,' he joked, stuffing his muddy clothes into one of the knapsacks while Dallon and Jimmy folded the blanket. The five trekked back to the door of the med-bus, where Anne was still waiting.

'Shoes come off and stay on the steps,' she said quietly, stepping back so the kids could enter. 'The girls are on the back couch. Hal and Maggie have two of the cots, and Matt and Colm are sharing the other. You guys get the floor. You know where the blankets are.'

Anne settled into the seat at the front of the bus as the kids filed in. 'Jimmy and I will both fit on the floor in the back, and probably Harlem too, but I think Dallon is too tall,' Abby whispered.

'Probably,' Dallon agreed, peering into the back.

'Then we'll sleep out here,' Ben said.

'Don't step on Tom,' Anne cautioned as Abby, Jimmy, and Harlem made their way towards the back of the bus. They stepped over Tom as they went, passing the cots silently. Anne had spread sleeping bags over the floor to pad it slightly for those sleeping on it.

'Abby!' Colm whispered.

'What, buddy?' Abby replied.

'Take me with you,' Colm said, sitting up and reaching his arms out for her to pick him up. She lifted him up and balanced him on her hip before continuing.

'Ben can sleep with me,' Matt said softly. Wordlessly, Ben complied, crawling onto the cot next to his brother and wrapping his arms around the younger boy to keep him from falling off. Dallon laid down on the floor near the door, curling up under a blanket that Harlem tossed him. Abby, Jimmy, Harlem, and Colm made their way to the back and curled up on the floor. Jimmy and Harlem laid down, curling up under blankets, but Abby merely sat on the floor with Colm on her lap.


	7. Chapter 7

Anne was the first to wake up the next morning to sun streaming through the windshield. She uncurled and groaned as she stretched, stiff from sitting in the driver's seat all night. She peered further back into the bus and smiled as she saw the scene set there. Dallon was sprawled across two sleeping bags on his stomach. He had kicked his blanket off, and it now lay under Hal's cot. Maggie was sound asleep in her cot, her golden hair splayed across the pillow. In the center section of the bus, Tom was sleeping on his back, his hands under his head. Anne couldn't see Hal from her position, but she could see Ben and Matt. Matt was in the front of the cot, while Ben was in the back, pressed between his brother and the wall. Matt was asleep, one of his arms and both of his feet hanging into the aisle. Ben was curled up slightly, his arms wrapped around Matt's stomach and his face buried in Matt's curly hair. At first, Anne thought he was asleep, but as she watched, he moved slightly, reaching down and lifting Matt's arm back onto the bed before tightening his grip on Matt and curling up more. In the very back, all four of the girls crammed onto the couch were still asleep and mostly out of view. Harlem had somehow worked his way into the aisle and was sleeping with his head near Tom's and his feet against the couch. Jimmy was curled up with his head on Harlem's legs and the rest of his body out of view. Abby was almost invisible; Anne could only see one foot, half of an arm, and Colm's legs where he was curled up on her lap.

She observed this all slowly, taking it in carefully; she wanted to be able to remember the rare peaceful moment. She was surprised to realize that she already thought of the eight new children as part of her growing family, although she had only met them a day and a half previous.

A sudden loud banging on the door drew her attention and rapidly ended the peaceful scene. Dallon jumped and shouted, banging his head on Maggie's cot, which woke her up. The bang and Dallon's shout woke up Tom, Hal, and Ben as well, Tom and Hal sitting straight up, while Ben lifted his head, looking plainly alarmed. In the back, Harlem flailed around, trying to roll over with Jimmy's head on his legs, and only managed to kick Abby with his slightly freer leg.

Anne nearly dissolved into laughter at the sight, but went to open the door while everyone else oriented themselves.

'Good morning, Colonel,' she said with a smile. 'Come on in.'

'Good morning, Anne,' Weaver replied gruffly. He stepped in, observing the muddy shoes, backpacks, clothes, and blanket at the stairs. 'Who's awake?'

'Almost everyone,' Anne replied. She looked into the back of the bus to figure out who was completely awake. Hal and Maggie were sitting up, blankets still wrapped around their shoulders in the early morning chill. Tom was on his feet, strapping on his gun belt. Dallon was still sitting on his sleeping bag, clutching his head. Ben's head had dropped, and Matt was still asleep. In the back, it looked like all of the girls and Jimmy were still asleep, but Harlem had managed to extricate himself from Jimmy and sit up and Abby had disappeared from view with Colm. 'You can see for yourself.'

Tom had finished with his belt and was standing over Ben and Matt, an expression of wonder on his face. He turned to Anne and mouthed "he's asleep", pointing at Ben. Anne smiled in response, as thrilled as Tom was since Ben rarely slept.

'Be as quiet as you can,' she told Weaver, leaning down to check on Dallon's head. Weaver stepped up to stand next to the driver's seat. 'I was going to have some of the spiked kids go check on the skitter force again, but some of our scouts saw them heading back the direction we came, so I'm not going to make them go now.'

'It's cool,' Dallon mumbled. 'Harlem and I are up; we can head over and check on it. It'll be easier going with the light, and no rain, and the mud should be mostly dry. Plus, we know where we're going now. We can probably be back in two hours, three tops.'

'Okay,' Weaver nodded.

'I need pants first,' Harlem grumbled as he picked his way to the front of the bus. 'No way can I run or trek through the woods in these.'

'I'll climb up top and get our clothes down,' Dallon replied. 'Come on,' he added, standing and grabbing his shoes on the way out of the bus. Harlem followed, holding the too-big pants up with one hand and grabbing his shoes with the other. There was a thump as Dallon landed on the roof, then two softer whumps as he tossed his and Harlem's backpacks.

'Let the other kids sleep,' Weaver said sympathetically. 'It's been a long few days, and who know what those other spiked kids went through before they got here.'

'Hell, from what I've heard them saying,' Tom replied softly, stepping away from Ben and Matt's bed after covering them up with the blanket Ben had kicked off.

'I'm sure,' Weaver nodded. He and Tom left the bus, Tom grabbing his shoes from the steps on the way out. 'What have they said?'

'Not much, but I heard Matt and one of the girls, Summer, talking in the bus yesterday,' Tom replied. 'She said that the skitters used them as foot soldiers, sending them into skirmishes to fight with only one or two rebels with them. Colm said that their pack usually got sent in alone, or sometimes with this guy named Samson, who's apparently more skitter than human.'

'That's a hard life for anyone, especially such young kids,' Weaver shook his head. 'Do you know how old they are?'

'Colm is eight,' Tom shook his head sadly. 'Mariah is nine, Amanda is ten, and Summer is eleven. Then there's Jimmy and Harlem, who are fifteen, Abby is seventeen, and Dallon is nineteen.'

'Eight,' Weaver repeated, astonished.

'Yeah,' Tom nodded. 'It's horrible. He was six when he was harnessed.'

'What do they even want with kids that young?' Weaver wondered.

'I guess they just take what they can get,' Tom said wryly.

'I guess,' Weaver agreed. He looked around. 'I don't want to get unpacked or anything until Dallon and Harlem get back, but I don't think we have too much to worry about. There's a few people who have started doing laundry and dishes in the river, and I think a few are even bathing. I'm not letting anyone getting too settled in, but I think we'll be safe here for a little while.'

'I hope so,' Tom sighed. 'We've been running since we left Boston.'

'That we have,' Weaver agreed. 'Even I'm feeling a need to slow down.'

Tom laughed at the comment. 'Charleston softened you up, Dan.'

'That's what I'm afraid of,' Weaver complained.

Ben woke up slowly, feeling better rested than he had since the removal of his harness a year and a half before. His arms were still wrapped around Matt, who was still asleep and snoring softly. He looked across the bus and was surprised to see not only Hal gone but several rolled-up sleeping bags piled on his cot. Ben lifted his head and discovered that the floor was clear, and Maggie was also gone. He tried to peer into the back, but couldn't see anything from where he was lying.

'Morning, sleepyhead,' Anne smiled, walking back from the front of the bus.

'What time is it?' Ben asked, pulling his arm out from under Matt.

'Not sure,' Anne replied. 'At least nine or ten.'

'Ugh,' Ben groaned. 'I can't believe I slept so late.'

'Don't worry,' Anne smiled warmly. 'You need sleep.'

Ben sighed and scratched his neck. 'Sure,' he sighed.

'Come on, breakfast is out there,' Anne said. 'Your stuff is on the cot in the front if you want to change.'

'Thanks,' Ben nodded. 'I'll be out in a few. Do you want me to wake Matt up?'

'No, just let him and the others sleep,' Anne shook her head. 'It's been a long time since we could rest.'

Ben nodded again as Anne left. Carefully, so as not to disturb Matt, he slipped off the bed and rearranged the blanket over his younger brother. He walked to the cot in the front of the bus, where his backpack was along with several others. He pulled a shirt out, then unbuttoned the plaid one he had donned the night before and pulled it on. He got out a pair of pants and returned to his and Matt's bed to change into them, sitting on the edge of the cot. He folded the borrowed clothes and set them on the cot next to the backpacks before moving towards the back of the bus to grab his weapons. He fastened his gun belt around his hips and grabbed his rifle. He turned as he started to sling the rifle over his shoulder, then jumped and nearly dropped the gun when he realized that Abby was awake and watching him from the floor of the back compartment.

'Morning,' she snickered. 'Didn't mean to scare you.'

'I didn't realize you were awake,' Ben replied, slinging his gun across his back.

'Yeah, I have been for a while, but I don't want to move Colm,' Abby replied, shifting slightly. 'I don't want him to wake up.'

'Do you want to lay him down with Matt?' Ben asked, glancing back at his brother.

'Sure,' Abby sighed. 'It's better than the floor.' She squirmed around, trying to get her feet under her. 'Gah,' she muttered.

'Here,' said Ben, stepping forward. He leaned down and took Colm from her, then carried him to Matt's cot and laid him down.

'Thanks,' said Abby. She stood up and paused in the doorway. 'Hey, could you stand outside and make sure no-one comes in so I can change?'

'Sure,' Ben nodded. He went outside, Abby following him to the front of the bus to the backpacks.

Ben waited against the side of the bus next to the door, shivering until Abby came out. 'Here,' she said, handing him a big black jacket. 'Yours is all muddy,' she explained.

'Whose is this?' Ben asked, pulling it on.

'I have an extra,' she replied. She wore dark grey leggings with a pair of mint-green shorts and a thick grey shirt with an oversized camouflage jacket over top. Her brown boots were completely covered in mud.

'Come on,' Ben said. 'Breakfast is over there.'

As the two walked towards the new fire circle, Abby pulled her messy hair into an unruly ponytail. 'What happened to your face?' Ben asked, looking at a large, purpley bruise on Abby's left cheekbone that hadn't been there the day before.

'Harlem kicked me when he woke up,' Abby laughed.

'How did he manage that?' Ben asked.

'Well, he was laying on his stomach with his legs up the couch, and Jimmy was laying on his legs,' Abby explained. 'When he woke up, he was trying to get Jimmy off and just ended up flailing around and kicked me in the face.'

'Ouch,' Ben laughed.

'Morning!' Hal called as the two approached. 'Sleepyheads.'

'Shut up,' Ben shot back, punching Hal lightly in the shoulder.

'Ooh, that looks painful,' Maggie said, looking at Abby's face.

'Yeah, a little,' she shrugged. 'I've had way worse,' she added with a laugh.

'Here,' said Maggie, handing Abby a chunk of granola.

'What is it?' Abby asked, eyeing up the unappetizing morsel.

'Granola, raisins, craisins, and some stale cherios,' Maggie replied. 'I'm not really sure how they're stuck together, but I'm not sure I want to know.'

'Okay,' Abby nodded. 'How am I supposed to eat it?'

'Here,' said Maggie, handing her a tin cup and a spoon. 'Put it in the cup, break it apart with the spoon.'

'Okay,' Abby nodded. She took the cup and spoon from Maggie, put the chunk of breakfast in it, and started chopping it up with the spoon.

Ben did the same with his own breakfast. 'Hey, what about the skitters? Weaver said he wanted to send us back out to check on them this morning.'

'Some of the scouts saw a skitter force headed the way we came yesterday,' Hal replied. 'Weaver isn't too worried about them, but he sent Harlem and Dallon to check it out anyways. They were the only ones awake when he came by.'

'I think I remember that,' Ben said.

'You kind of woke up,' Hal replied. 'You sort of sat up, then flopped back down and hugged Matt like a teddy bear.'

'I remember it,' Abby said around a mouthful of food. 'That's when Harlem kicked me.'

'Sorry,' Harlem said, sneaking up behind Abby and clapping his hands down on her shoulders, startling her and nearly causing her to choke on her breakfast.

'Off,' she grunted, swinging an arm around to elbow Harlem in the hip. He dodged and plopped down between her and Ben.

'What's the verdict on the skitters?' Hal asked.

'They're gone,' Harlem replied. 'Dallon and I followed their tracks to the road and down past the point we left it. We already told Colonel Weaver and your dad.'

'So we can stay here?' Maggie grinned. 'That's great.'

'I never thought I'd say it, but I miss Charleston,' Hal laughed. 'I miss sleeping indoors, on a bed, eating real food at a table… but it is great to be back out here with the 2nd Mass.'

'Hey!' Tom called as he approached. 'Morning Ben, Abby. How did you two sleep last night?'

'Pretty well, thanks,' Abby smiled.

'Yeah, great,' Ben agreed. 'Better than I've slept since… since before the skitters invaded.'

'That's good,' Tom grinned. 'We'll be staying here for a while. In a little while, we'll set up the tent and the extension for the bus.' He turned to Abby and Harlem. 'You and the others are welcome to stay with us. We'll have to keep the med-bus clear in case something happens, but you can sleep in our tent until we can find something for you.'

'Thank you,' Abby smiled gratefully. 'We all appreciate everything you're doing for us.'

'It's nothing,' Tom reassured her. 'We'd do it for anyone. The tent's going to be more than a little crowded, but it'll work for now.'

'We don't want to cause trouble,' Abby said quickly. 'We'd be just fine sleeping outside.'

'Not going to happen,' Anne said, approaching from the direction of the river. 'I don't want to have to deal with a bunch of pneumonia cases, for one. It's cold, and damp, and you'll get sick if you stay outside. Not to mention it wouldn't be morally right.'

'We've been sleeping outside since we were deharnessed,' Abby shook her head. 'We'll be fine.'

'No,' Anne said decisively. 'We'll make it work.'

Abby sighed and shook her head. 'Whatever you say, Doc. Thank you.'


	8. Chapter 8

'Abby, I'm cold,' Colm grumbled. He was standing in front of Abby, his back to her, with a worn-out towel over his head.

'When your hair dries, you'll be warmer,' Abby replied, rubbing the towel vigorously on his head. The two, as well as their six pack mates and most of the other kids and teens in the camp, had taken quick baths in the freezing cold river after lunch, before racing back up to the camp to dry off and change into dry clothes. Now, Abby was sitting on the ground in front of Maggie, who was trying to rip a brush as painlessly as possible through Abby's tangled mess of hair. The 2nd Mass had spent the morning setting up camp once Harlem and Dallon had reported back that the skitters were gone, allowing some time for a more relaxed atmosphere. Sentries patrolled the camp perimeter, and a few scouts were patrolling deeper in the woods.

Abby pulled the towel off of Colm's head and turned him around. 'Done. You can go now.'

'Yay!' Colm squealed, racing off towards where Mariah, Amanda, Summer, Alexis, and Matt had started a game of tag.

'How's it going there, Maggie?' Anne asked, joining the two girls near the fire.

'I think I've got about half of the knots out, and I think I've ripped out about half of her hair,' Maggie laughed.

'On the bright side, with less hair, there will be fewer knots next time I have to brush it,' Abby joked.

'Hopefully,' Anne laughed.

'Hey,' said Tom, joining the group. 'Where is everyone?'

'Hal is out scouting,' Anne replied. 'Ben, Harlem, Dallon, and Jimmy wandered off somewhere, and the younger kids are over there.'

The camp was set up slightly differently than the last had been. Rather than an outer circle of vehicles, with the tents set up on the ground inside of them and a fire circle in the center, the tents were grouped into mini-camps, the vehicles of the occupants parked nearby. Each mini-camp had a small fire circle. The mini-camps were arranged in a rough circle around a larger fire circle, near which the command tent was located.

The Masons and the eight spiked children had camped together between the river and the entrance to the camp. The med-bus was parked parallel to the river, one side opened up to a built-up platform that formed a curtained-off extension for Anne and Lourdes to work in. Nearer to the clearing entrance, the Masons' tent had been set up on a raised wooden platform. Inside, Tom and Anne's bed was on the right, Hal and Maggie's was on the left, and the cots were lined up in the back. The floor between the beds and cots had been turned into nests made of sleeping bags and blankets from the med-bus's stockpile.

'Hey, Anne,' called Lourdes, approaching from one of the nearby camp circles.

'Hey, Lourdes,' Anne called back. 'What's up?'

'I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to stay with Jeanne again, at least for tonight,' Lourdes replied.

'Are you sure?' Anne asked. 'There's always room for you with us.'

'I know,' Lourdes smiled. She waved slightly and walked back to the other campsite.

'Dad!' Ben called. He, Jimmy, Dallon, and Harlem were approaching from the river. 'Look what we've got!'

'Are those fish!?' Anne asked.

'Yep,' Ben grinned. Each of the boys held a string with about five fish on it, the largest nearly a foot long. 'We caught them.'

'How?' Tom asked, taking Ben's string and looking at the fish.

Ben shrugged. 'With sticks. We broke them off so they had sharp ends and speared the fish.'

'These will be great for dinner,' Anne said, examining Harlem's fish. 'We can skin them and roast them over the fire. We don't have anything to fry them in, but it'll be good.'

'How many did you get?' Tom asked, laying the fish on the towel Colm had used earlier. 'I'll wash it tomorrow,' he said in response to Anne's glare.

'I got six,' Ben replied, sitting on the ground next to his father and pulling out his knife.

'I got five,' Harlem said.

'Six,' Dallon added.

'Four,' Jimmy sighed. 'I'm not very good at spearing fish.'

'That's twenty-one fish,' Maggie marveled. 'And there are how many of us? About fifteen?'

'Fourteen,' Anne corrected. 'There will be plenty here for everyone. I can go ask Weaver if he and Jeanne and Lourdes want to join us.'

'That sounds like a great idea,' Tom nodded. 'We'll get to work skinning and cooking these fish.'

'I'll go and talk to Weaver,' Anne smiled. She stood up and made her way towards Weaver's campsite, skirting the energetic game of tag on her way.

'I can help,' Abby said, looking over at Tom and the boys as Maggie continued to comb her tangled hair.

'If you're holding a knife while Maggie's ripping that comb through your hair, you'll cut your own fingers off,' Jimmy laughed, picking up a fish and pulling out his knife.

'Good point,' Abby agreed, wincing as Maggie's comb caught in a particularly large and stubborn knot.

'Are we de-boning them or whatever?' Dallon asked, flopping the fish he had skinned.

'Sure,' Tom replied. 'Do you know how?'

'Uh…' Dallon started at the fish in his hand. 'Sort of. Not really.'

'Well, hold on while I finish this one and I'll show you,' Tom laughed.

'I have to say, these are some good fish,' Weaver said. 'I appreciate whoever caught them. And thank you, Tom and Anne, for letting us join you.'

'Of course,' Anne smiled. 'We would've had extra anyways. Thank you and Jeanne and Lourdes for helping us finish it.'

'Thanks to Ben, Harlem, Dallon, and Jimmy for catching the fish in the first place,' Tom added, glancing at the boys.

'Next task: figuring out how and where everyone is going to sleep in the tent tonight,' Hal joked.

'Well, we'll leave that to you,' Weaver said, standing and brushing off his pants. 'So long, and thanks for all the fish.'

'Good night, Colonel,' Anne replied, smiling warmly. 'Good night, Jeanne, Lourdes.'

'Good night, Anne,' Lourdes smiled. The trio departed for their mini-camp, leaving the Masons and spiked kids at their fire.

'Okay, time to get ready for bed,' Anne said, standing up. 'Let's go.' She herded her family and the other kids into the tent. 'Tom and I are over here. Lexie can sleep with us. Hal and Maggie are over there.'

'Matt can sleep in our bed,' Hal shrugged. 'There's room.'

'Okay,' Anne nodded. 'We'll see how much room we have before we decide that. How about you girls take the cots?'

'Yeah, Mariah and Amanda can share one, and Summer and I can share the other,' Abby nodded.

'There's enough room that you and Summer can each take one cot,' Anne replied. 'And the boys can sleep on the floor; maybe Jimmy, Ben, and Colm on one side and Harlem and Dallon on the other, and Matt can sleep with Hal.'

'Sounds like a plan,' Tom agreed. 'Everyone happy with that?'

'Abby, I want to sleep with you,' Colm whined, clutching at Abby's leg.

'Colm, sleep with me tonight,' Jimmy said, bending down and picking the small boy up. 'You kept Abby up half the night last night. Maybe tomorrow you can sleep with her.'

Colm nodded grumpily, rubbing his eyes.

'Okay, let's start getting settled in,' Anne smiled. 'Leave your shoes and big guns by the door. Hand guns can stay with you if you want, but I'd prefer them over here.'

Obediently, the kids kicked off their shoes and lined them up near the door. Hal, Maggie, Tom, Ben, Matt, and Jimmy left their rifles with the shoes, and everyone with smaller weapons unstrapped their belts and left them with their own shoes.

'Come on,' Abby prompted, pushing Mariah and Amanda towards the back, Summer following them. Abby lifted Mariah onto the middle cot as Summer climbed into the one on the left. Once Mariah was settled in, Abby picked up Amanda and laid her down at the opposite end. She tucked the blanket around the girls, leaving only their heads peeking out.

'Good night, Abby,' Mariah whispered sleepily as Abby tucked her in.

'Night, Mo,' Abby replied with a smile. She turned to Summer and tucked her in as the boys started to settle into the sleeping bags. 'Take off your jacket,' she said, helping Summer out of the garment. When Summer had lain down, Abby tucked her in as well, then walked over to the third cot.

Anne watched the teenagers settle in from a position seated on the edge of her bed. Alexis sat on her lap, kicking her feet cheerfully. Tom pulled off his jacket and scarf before joining her. On the other side of the tent, Maggie was sitting in bed, laughing as Hal and Matt started wrestling again.

'Okay, no wrestling matches tonight,' Tom called. 'And no sock fights either.'

'Fine,' Hal groaned. He heaved Matt off of him and onto the floor with a grunt and a thump. Matt laughed and crawled back into the bed.

In the sleeping bags next to Tom and Anne's bed, Dallon and Harlem had shed their shirts before curling up underneath heaps of blankets. On the opposite side of the tent, Jimmy was helping Colm pull off his shirt while Ben unfolded the blankets Anne had left for them. Abby had finished tucking the girls in and was getting into her own cot. She had shed her thick shirt and shorts and just wore her tank top and leggings.

'Bundle up, everybody,' Anne advised. 'It's going to be a cold night.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I've been updating a lot lately, mostly because this is finished and I'm pretty happy with my progress on the next part...**

**To my wonderful new reviewers!**

**melsol: aw, thank you! This chapter is a little longer than some of the others, so I hope you like it!**

**Lea97: Thank you as well! I'm glad you like it (: Deni joins the group in a few more chapters... Close to the end, actually ^^; I hope you'll keep reading until then!**

* * *

><p>The next morning, Anne woke up as Tom attempted to quietly slip out of bed. Before she could speak, he raised a finger to his lips. She nodded and half-sat up, looking around the tent. Across from her bed, Hal and Maggie were snuggled together. Matt had rolled off at some point and lay on the floor half-covered by a blanket with his legs still on the bed. Jimmy was sprawled on his back with Colm on his chest and several blankets over the two of them, making just their heads visible. Ben was completely covered by a mound of blankets, only recognizable as a teenaged boy by the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing. Dallon was asleep on his stomach, his arms wrapped around a bunched up blanket and his face buried in the blanket, covered by several others. Harlem had kicked off all blankets and lay with his feet over Dallon's back. Mariah and Amanda were curled into little balls on their cot, only their heads visible from under the blankets. Summer had pulled her blanket over her head and was completely invisible. Finally, Abby lay peacefully on her stomach, one arm hanging off of the cot, her blankets pulled off of her feet and up over one shoulder; her hair hung off of the edge of the cot, and her face rested on her other arm. Anne looked down at Alexis, sleeping soundly beside her, and laid back down as Tom pulled on his boots.<p>

'It's so early,' she whispered, noting the lack of light in the tent.

'The sun's just starting to rise,' Tom replied. 'I have early patrol.'

'I didn't think you did today,' Anne said, running a hand over Lexie's hair.

'Technically, Ben does, but I don't want to wake him up,' Tom said. 'He hasn't slept this much in years.'

'I know,' Anne smiled. 'Be careful.'

'Always am,' Tom smiled down at her before leaving the tent.

At first, Anne attempted to fall back asleep, but as the sun rose, she found herself unable to drift off, so she settled for watching the peaceful scene in the tent like she had the one in the bus the morning previous. She sat up in the bed and wrote in her journal as, one by one, the other occupants began to wake up.

Hal was the first to wake up after Tom left. Anne saw him slowly and carefully disentangle himself from Maggie and slip out of bed only to trip over Jimmy's foot and nearly fall on Matt. 'Ugh,' he complained, picking Matt up and heaving him onto the bed, earning a soft chuckle from Anne. 'Is everyone else really still asleep?'

'Tom left on patrol,' Anne replied.

'I'm awake, thank you,' Jimmy grumbled.

'Yeah, you're welcome,' Hal replied, searching for his shirt. Once he had found one, he grabbed his boots, jacket, and guns and left to don them outside.

Jimmy groaned, lifting his head to look at Colm and dropping it back onto the floor with a thump. 'Great,' he grumbled.

'Are you sore?' Anne asked, peering at the two.

'Kind of,' Jimmy groaned, squirming slightly. 'It kind of hurts to lay on my spikes, but other than that not really. Anyways, I'd rather deal with that than tracking Colm down around camp.'

'What do you mean?' Anne asked.

'He sleepwalks,' Jimmy sighed. 'We found that out the hard way after we packed up. He kept climbing things or getting lost in his sleep.'

'Do you want help getting him off?' Anne laughed. 'If you want to get up, that is.'

'Nah,' Jimmy sighed. 'I got him,' he added. He pushed Colm off with one hand, catching him with the other arm. 'See?' he grinned triumphantly, laying Colm on the floor and climbing to his feet. He grabbed his things from where they had ended up the night before and went outside to gear up, like Hal.

Anne sat and watched the children for another few minutes before Dallon woke up with a start, then smacked Harlem to wake him up. Wordlessly, the two redressed before grabbing their shoes on the way outside. Surprisingly, the next to wake was Summer. She pulled on her jacket, then quietly woke up Mariah and Amanda, waiting for them to don their jackets before the trio left together, waving to Anne on their way out.

Maggie woke up next, sitting bolt upright and shivering. 'Brr,' she muttered, rubbing her arms. She looked down at Matt, sprawled beside her and frowned. 'I could have sworn I went to sleep with a different brother last night.'

Anne laughed. 'Hal woke up about ten minutes ago. Matt fell off sometime last night and Hal tripped on him, so he put him back on the bed.'

'Uh-huh,' Maggie said. 'Should I wake him up?'

'He'll have to get up sooner or later,' Anne shrugged.

With a malicious smile, Maggie poked Matt in the side with one finger and tickled him slightly. When that merely elicited a grunt and shift in position, she pounced with both hands and started tickling the young boy. Matt shrieked and began flailing around, sending blankets flying as he laughed and kicked. His shriek woke Colm and Alexis, who quickly assessed the situation and raced to join in. Their squeals and laughter soon joined Matt and Maggie's, raising the volume level in the tent by several notches.

Anne saw the mound of blankets that was Ben shift, and two bare feet poked out of the bottom. She saw an arm appear from the other side, and then motion stopped. As she watched, she saw a hand reach out and tug on the end of Abby's hair where it hung nearly to the floor. Without opening her eyes, Abby smacked him on the wrist.

'Next time you do that, I break your nose,' Abby grumbled. 'Okay?'

'Fine,' Ben sighed. He threw off his blankets and sat up, stretching languidly. He yawned and looked around. 'Where is everyone?'

'Already awake,' Anne replied with a smile.

'Crap!' Ben cried, jumping to his feet and frantically searching for his things. 'I need to go! I have patrol this morning!'

'Tom went,' Anne replied. 'He didn't want to wake you up. You've been sleeping better than normal the past few nights.'

'I know,' Ben agreed. 'I haven't had any nightmares.'

'It's the connection,' Abby said, propping herself up on her elbows and looking up at Ben. 'When you connect with someone, it does a lot of things. We found out that after we connected and packed up, we stopped having nightmares about being with the skitters. We think it's because we don't feel alone anymore.' She shrugged. 'I don't know what does it, I'm just glad it does. But it doesn't work if you're too far from the person or people you connected with.'

'Weird,' Ben said, finding his socks and shirt under Mariah and Amanda's cot.

'Is there anything we got from them that isn't weird?' Abby laughed, sitting up. She knelt on her cot and leaned over to grab her overshirt, shorts, and socks from under her cot.

Ben paused at the comment. 'Good point,' he agreed. He got dressed, dodging the tickle fight on his way outside.

'Good morning, by the way, Anne,' Abby smiled as she headed out, now fully dressed.

'Good morning,' Anne replied with a smile.

'Morning,' Jimmy yawned, looking up at Ben as he joined them around the fire circle. Hal had rekindled the flame from the night before, and was now cooking oatmeal over the small flame.

'Oatmeal?' Ben sighed, sitting down next to Jimmy.

'You betcha,' Hal laughed. 'What else?'

'True,' Ben nodded.

Abby hopped out of the tent and padded over to the fire, barefoot. She plopped down next to Jimmy and started pulling on her socks. She shivered, 'It's freezing!'

'Sun just rose,' Hal replied. 'It'll take a little while to warm up yet.'

Abby sighed and pulled her jacket on over her heavy shirt before shoving her feet into her brown boots.

'What is with you and those boots?' Hal asked. 'They're not very practical.'

'Don't I know it,' Abby grumbled. 'They were what I was wearing when I was taken, and I haven't been able to find anything else that fits.'

'How do you run in those?' Ben chimed in, peering at her around Jimmy.

'With difficulty,' Abby rolled her eyes. 'There are holes in the bottom, and the heels are all messed up. On the bright side, they don't give me blisters.'

'That is a plus,' Hal laughed, stirring the oatmeal. 'Done. Ben, can you grab those cups?'

'Yeah,' Ben stood up and grabbed several tin cups that were sitting, along with a canteen of water and the bag of oatmeal, across the fire from Hal and took the cups over to his brother. 'Here.'

'Thanks,' Hal said. He took one cup and spooned oatmeal into it, then passed it to Abby and repeated the motions.

'Where is everyone?' Abby asked, looking around as she passed the first cup to Jimmy.

'Dallon and Harlem went on patrol,' Hal replied. 'They're keeping an eye on the skitter camp. Dad's on patrol for Weaver. I don't know where those girls went, though.'

Abby sighed. 'They're always wandering off. They know enough not to leave the camp though, so they should be fine.'

'Morning!' Maggie called, exiting the tent and herding Alexis, Matt, and Colm in front of her. 'Is breakfast ready?'

'You bet,' Hal grinned. 'Grab some of those cups.'

Maggie picked up four of the tin cups, handing one each to the children. 'Go on, Hal will give you some oatmeal.'

The three filed over to Hal as Ben stepped around him to sit down next to Abby. Hal filled up each of their cups and they sat down around the circle. 'Anne, do you want some oatmeal?' Hal called towards the tent.

Anne didn't reply, but a few moments later she appeared in the doorway of the tent and made her way to the campfire. 'Hm, it was warmer inside,' she laughed. She accepted a cup-full of oatmeal from Hal and sat down between him and Ben. 'Thank you.'

'Yep,' Hal nodded, spooning out some oatmeal for himself and sitting down.

'It's pretty chilly,' Maggie observed, breaking the breakfast silence. 'But I guess this is just the start of winter, huh?'

'It's going to get a whole lot colder,' Anne nodded. 'I hope we can find somewhere sheltered to hole up.'

'I think Dad and Weaver are still planning to head for Charleston,' Hal said. 'If we can make it there, we don't need to find somewhere up here.'

'True,' Maggie agreed. 'But we don't know if we'll make it there. Definitely need to find more fuel first.'

'Hey, you guys have been around here for a while, haven't you?' Ben asked, turning to Jimmy and Abby.

'Yeah,' Jimmy nodded. 'Why?'

'Have you seen anywhere that looked like it might not be completely ransacked for fuel?' Ben asked.

'Not sure,' Jimmy replied.

'Hey, what about that one town where we found all the food?' Abby suggested.

'Yeah, maybe,' Jimmy agreed. 'We found this one town that was mostly destroyed, but hadn't been completely cleaned out. There was a gas station. We could check it out, at least.'

'How far is it?' Hal asked.

'Probably around fifty miles south-ish,' Jimmy replied. 'It's been a while since we passed through there.'

'That's about two and a half hours driving,' Hal said. 'I'll talk to Weaver; see if he'll let us go check it out.'

'We can help get there if he clears it,' Jimmy said. 'Abby would be best; she has the best sense of direction.'

'I'll let Weaver know,' Hal nodded. 'Thanks.'

* * *

><p><strong>Running tally of other fandom references: 3. So far. And there's one I'm not sure made it into the version I published... Anyways, if you catch a reference, let me know and I'll give you a shout-out! =D yay!<strong>

**Okay, classes start again tomorrow, so I don't know how much I'll be updating... Once I upload the tenth chapter, I don't plan to update again until I've written at least ten for the sequel. Right now, I'm halfway through the fourth, so it shouldn't take me too long *is denying the amount of German and BritLit homework she has***

**KBYE! EWOK OUT!**


	10. Chapter 10

'Jimmy! Abby! Ben!' Hal called. He was standing in the doorway of the command tent; Jimmy, Abby, and Ben were waiting outside, near the smoldering central fire. It had started to drizzle, and the trio was shivering in the frigid air, small clouds of breath puffing around them. They turned and walked to the tent, stepping inside the canvas building, grateful for the reprieve from the rain.

'Hal told me that you two might have a lead on some fuel,' Weaver said, looking intently at Jimmy and Abby.

'Yes, sir,' Jimmy replied. 'We passed through a town that was basically untouched by scroungers a few weeks ago. There was a gas station; hopefully that was as untouched as the rest of the town.'

'It's the best lead we've got,' Hal piped up.

'I agree,' Weaver nodded. 'Do you remember the way there?'

'We were in the woods most of the time,' Jimmy shook his head. 'I definitely don't remember a thing.'

'Then how are we supposed to get there for this fuel?' Weaver's brow furrowed.

'I can get you there,' Abby replied confidently. 'I have a good sense of direction. It won't be hard.'

'Are you sure?' Weaver asked.

'Yes, sir,' Abby nodded.

'Okay,' Weaver agreed. 'Hal, you can have the pick-up. Take Ben and Abby. Jimmy, I'd like you to stay here.'

'Yes, sir,' Jimmy nodded.

'Let's go,' said Hal. 'We need to get a move on so we can get there and back before dark.'

'Dismissed,' Weaver added. Ben, Abby, and Hal filed out together, Jimmy following.

'See you when you get back,' Jimmy grinned. 'Be careful, and good luck.'

Abby rolled her eyes. 'I'm always careful.'

Jimmy raised one eyebrow and looked at her, before shaking his head and wandering off.

'Okay, we need our guns, extra ammo, and food,' Hal sighed. 'And make sure there's enough gas in the pick-up. I'll take care of gas; you guys grab the food and weapons. Meet back here in fifteen.'

'Be careful,' Anne said. She stood next to the pick-up as Hal and Ben heaved empty metal drums into the back of the pick-up. Several gas canisters were still sitting on the ground, and Abby stood next to Anne with three rifles slung over her on shoulder and a knapsack over the other.

'We will be,' Hal replied. Once all of the drums were loaded, Hal packed the gas cans around them while Ben roped the drums into place. Once all of the containers were loaded, Hal shut the gate and turned around to take his rifle from Abby. 'Ready?'

'Yeah,' she nodded, handing Ben's gun to him.

'Ready,' Ben added.

'Let's go,' Hal said. The three loaded into the truck cab; Hal behind the wheel, Abby in the middle, and Ben on the passenger side. With a final wave to Maggie, standing near the med-bus with Alexis, Colm, Mariah, and Amanda, Hal started the truck, shifted it into gear, and drove towards the main road.

'Which way?' Hal asked Abby when they reached the turn onto the main road.

'Left,' Abby said after a pause. 'We're going back the way my pack and I were traveling before we met you.'

'Okay,' Hal nodded. He turned onto the road and the truck started chugging its way down the asphalt. 'You're sure about this?'

'Yeah,' Abby nodded. 'I'm sure.'

Hal pulled up to a crossroads and stopped. 'Which way?' he asked.

Abby swallowed. 'I'm not sure.'

'Great,' Hal groaned, throwing up his hands.

'Let me out,' Abby said.

'What?' Ben asked.

'Let me out,' she repeated. Before Ben could move, she sighed, crawled over him, opened the door, and tumbled out onto the road. Hal killed the engine and he and Ben sat watching her. Abby poked around in the woods on the right side of the road for several seconds before disappearing into them.

'Great,' Hal groaned. He opened his door and started to get out to follow her, but she reappeared.

'Right!' Abby called. She jogged around the front of the truck to the passenger side. Ben scooted into the middle so that she could climb in, and she shut the door. 'Right,' she repeated. 'I recognized some things in the woods. We came that way.'

'Are we following your path or taking the most direct route?' Hal asked, restarting the truck and turning right.

'Both,' Abby shrugged. 'Considering that the path we took is the most direct route since we don't know any other. Just be glad that we don't have to go through the woods.'

'I guess that's a good thing,' Hal sighed.

'Now which way?' Hal groaned. They had been driving for almost three hours, but had still not reached the town Abby and Jimmy had mentioned.

'Right!' Abby exclaimed excitedly. 'I know where we are! We're close!'

'Finally!' Hal grumbled. He turned right, and a few minutes later a demolished town appeared ahead of them.

'There,' Abby grinned. 'We made it.'

'Nice,' Hal nodded, impressed. 'Let's check out that gas station.' He pulled into the station, which was near the center of town and shut off the pick-up. He grabbed a gas can and headed for the pumps. 'Let's hurry up and get this done. Come on.'

Abby and Ben hopped out of the truck and joined Hal. It didn't take the trio long to fill up all of the containers with gas. Once they were done, Ben and Abby lifted the drums onto the truck bed, then packed the other containers in as well. Hal tied the ropes and shut the gate and glanced at his brother and Abby with a grin. 'Great. This is great. It'll get us pretty far. Let's get back.'

'Wait,' Ben froze, staring towards the opposite side of town.

'You hear that?' Abby asked, looking at Hal.

'Hear what?' Hal asked.

'Stay here,' Ben said. 'Abby and I will check it out. If we're not back in twenty minutes, leave.'

'What's going on?' Hal asked as Ben and Abby set off for the far side of the town.

'Someone else is here.'

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><p><strong>Sorry, sorry, I know it's really short... As in, barely over 1000 words... but the past few chapters have been over 2000, and the next one is over 2000 as well, so... :P Anyways, my goal for the next part of the fic (which I am almost on the seventh chapter in writing) is to have chapters at a minimum of 2000 words, while the minimum goal or this one was 1500...<strong>

**ANYWAYS**

**Thank you to all reviewers! Reviews make my day, so please review! Also, the story has had 175 visitors, which is super exciting! I'll publish the next chapter when it reaches 250 views or when I get the tenth chapter for part 2 written, whichever comes first. So, hopefully, look for another chapter by the weekend!**


	11. Chapter 11

'What is it?' Jonathan whispered. He was pressed against the wall of a collapsed house. Next to him, Korinne was peering around the edge of the wall.

'Couple of kids,' she replied. 'Some teenaged boy and a girl who kind of looks like my sister from here.' She sat back and sighed. 'They don't look like they have anything.'

'We should check it out,' Jonathan shrugged. 'They could have something useful. Do they have guns?'

'We're not taking their guns,' Korinne replied sternly. 'They're just kids. They need to be able to defend themselves.'

'Fine,' Jonathan sighed. 'They probably haven't heard us. We'll just let them pass. What are they doing now?'

Korinne leaned around the wall again. 'The boy's gone!' she whispered, alarmed. 'The girl's still there, but she's not looking over here.'

'Let's get out of here,' Jonathan whispered.

'Not so fast,' a voice said. 'Hands where I can see them.'

'Wait,' Jonathan said. He whipped his head around and gaped. 'Benji?'

'Jonny?' Ben replied, shocked.

'You know him, baby?' Korinne said, looking between the two.

'This is my younger brother, Benji,' Jonathan stammered. 'W-what are you doing here?'

'Surviving,' Ben replied, lowering his gun. 'Abby, come on. It's okay.'

'Abby?' Korinne whispered. A crunch on gravel alerted them to Abby's arrival. Korinne turned slowly. 'Abby!'

'Korie?' Abby's jaw dropped. 'What the hell? How are you even here?'

'No time,' Ben said suddenly. 'Abby, do you hear that?'

'Yeah,' she nodded. 'Mechs. That means skitters. We gotta go.'

'Take us with you!' Korinne pleaded.

'Please,' Jonathan added. 'We've been here alone for almost a year. Take us with you.'

Ben paused. 'Do you have a vehicle?'

'Yeah, a dirtbike,' Jonathan replied. 'Why?'

'Get it, and meet us at the gas station,' Ben replied. 'And hurry!'

'I was getting worried!' Hal called, smirking at Ben and Abby as they jogged into the gas station parking lot. 'What took you so long?'

'We're bringing some people back with us,' Ben replied.

'What?' Hal asked. 'Are you sure that's a good idea?'

'We can't just leave them here,' Ben shrugged. 'There's mechs incoming, probably skitters too.'

'Great,' Hal sighed. 'Just what I was hoping for. Where are these people? And how are we going to take them with us, anyways?'

They heard the roar of a dirtbike as Jonathan and Korinne tore into the station, braking next to the truck and shutting off the bike.

'Hal?' Jonathan gaped. 'Is that you?'

'Jon?' Hal replied. 'I don't believe it.'

'Believe it,' Ben interrupted. 'Jonathan, you and your girlfriend can ride with Hal. Abby and I will take the bike back.'

'It's my bike,' Jon replied. 'I'm not letting it out of my sight.'

'This isn't up for negotiation,' Ben shot back. 'We need to get moving. Get in the truck or we'll leave you here for the aliens.'

'Come on, Jonny,' Korinne said, tugging him towards the truck. 'Let's go.'

'Fine,' Jon grumbled. He climbed into the truck after Korinne.

'You two sure about this?' Hal asked.

'Yeah,' Ben replied. 'I've got the navigator. You can get back to camp on your own?'

'No problem,' Hal replied. 'You guys be careful.'

'Don't worry,' Ben grinned. 'We'll be fine. See you at camp.'

'Yep,' Hal nodded. He ducked back into the truck and started it.

'Wait, you can't just leave them here!' Korinne cried as Hal pulled away, leaving Ben and Abby standing next to the dirtbike in the gas station parking lot.

'They'll be fine,' Hal grunted as he turned the wheel hard, scraping the truck around a sharp turn out of the lot.

'Are you kidding!?' Jon sputtered. 'That's your sixteen-year-old brother back there!'

'Yeah, my sixteen-year-old brother who's stronger, faster, smarter, more capable, and generally better than me at everything, especially fighting skitters,' Hal smirked.  
>'He'll be fine. And Abby's just like him. The two of them will make a good team if they have to fight.'<p>

'What do you mean?' Korinne asked. 'I know my sister. She's slow and wimpy. She may be smart, but the thing she's best at is writing. No way can she fight aliens for crap.'

'That's the old Abby,' Hal replied. 'Just like the old Ben. They're different people now. I'll explain later.'

'Why not explain now?' Jon demanded.

'Fine,' Hal replied. 'Have you seen the kids with the parasites on their backs?'

'Yeah,' Korinne replied. 'Are you saying that Abby and Ben were like those kids?'

'Yep,' Hal nodded. 'Their harnesses were cut off, but they still have parts of them buried in their spinal cords. The spikes give them a lot of amazing abilities. They're fast, strong, agile, and have incredible stamina and senses. They won't fall prey to the skitters easily.'

'I'll take your word for it,' Korinne grumbled.

'I just can't get over the fact that you two are alive,' Jon marveled. 'What about Mom? Dad? Little Matty?'

'Dad's fine and Matt's not so little,' Hal replied. 'You'll see them when we get to camp. Mom died a few months after the invasion.'

Jon shook his head. 'I'm sorry. I wish I could have been with you guys.'

'We thought you were dead.'

'I thought the same about you all,' Jon replied. 'Korie and I were trying to get to Boston, see if we could find out anything. We were in Harrisburg and found her parents' graves, so we started up here.'

'I assumed Abby and Nate, our brother, were dead,' Korinne whispered. 'Or that they had those things on their backs.'

'Abby did,' Hal replied. 'I don't know about your brother.'

'I wish I could find out something,' Korinne's eyes filled with tears. 'I just want to know.'

'The not-knowing is the worst,' Hal murmured.

'It is,' Jon nodded.

'What about you two?' Hal changed the subject.

'We're engaged,' Jon replied. 'We were travelling to meet each other's families, try to patch up relationships, before the invasion. When it happened, we just kept going, trying to get closure. We stopped here because there was food, and never really got around to leaving. What have you been up to?'

'We stayed in Boston for a while,' Hal replied. 'Grouped up with other refugees. We spent a few weeks at a school in Acton after leaving Boston, but eventually had to move out. We got stalled trying to get across a river, and decided to go to Charleston when we heard that refugees were congregating there to form a resistance. We spent almost a year there; Dad got remarried and they had a kid. We left to attack the Espheni in Boston. We were there a few weeks ago, but got kicked out by the Volm when they wanted to send us to Brazil.'

'Espheni?' Korinne repeated. 'Volm? Who are they?'

'The Espheni are the ones who control the skitters,' Hal explained. 'The Volm allied with us to fight them, and then decided they didn't want us around and tried to ship all human survivors off to Brazil to keep us out of their way.'

'Some allies,' Korinne scoffed.

'And did you say Dad got remarried?' Jon asked. 'And had a kid?'

'Oh, yeah, I should warn you about Lexie…' Hal sighed. 'Basically, Dad married Anne, the combat surgeon for the 2nd Mass—that was the group we left Boston with and are basically with now—and they had a daughter named Alexis about three months ago. _But_ Lexie and Anne were captured by the Espheni. While they were there, the Espheni did something to Lexie. She looks like she's six years old, not three months. Also, she's a half-human, half-alien hybrid. We don't know why or how. She's weird. You'll get used to her. If you actually stick around this time.'

Jon groaned and rested his head on the back of the seat. 'Hal, please. Don't bring that up. I'm sorry for leaving you guys. But Mom and Dad and I just didn't see eye to eye. Things would have exploded and you guys probably would have gotten hurt worse than you did by me leaving.'

'I remember the fights,' Hal replied grimly. 'We all do. Even Matt.'

'Hal—' Jon started

'It's fine,' Hal replied. 'We'll talk about this later. Let's just get back for now.'

'Tom, look!' Anne called. The beat-up red pick-up pulled into the clearing, skidding to a halt in the new mud near the command tent. Hal leapt out from behind the wheel and sprinted inside the tent.

'That's not Ben and Abby,' Jimmy said. He stood to Anne's left in the Mason tent's doorway, and Tom stood on her right.

'What?' Anne demanded, alarmed.

'Who is it?' Tom asked.

'Some guy and girl,' Jimmy replied. 'I don't think I know them. Hard to tell with this rain.'

'I'm going to go see what's going on,' Tom said to Anne. He jogged over to the tent as the door of the truck opened and the two occupants tumbled out. 'Come on in,' he called, squinting at them through the downpour. 'Colonel Weaver will want to talk to you.'

'Dad?' Jon called.

Tom paused. 'Jonny?' he called back.

'Come on inside, Tom,' Weaver yelled. 'Bring those two from the truck.'

Tom held the flap open for Jonathan and Korinne. 'Hal, where are Ben and Abby?'

'I don't know,' Hal replied. 'I was hoping to find them back here. There were skitters and mechs closing in on us. They took a different route to lead them away from the camp.'

'In this weather?' Tom frowned up at one of the tent's plastic skylights. 'They might not make it until morning.'

'There's nothing we can do until morning,' Weaver scowled. 'I hate it as much as you do, Tom, but we can't risk going out. We just have to trust that those two are smart enough to handle themselves for the night. As for you two,' Weaver turned on Jon and Korinne. 'Who the hell are you?'

'Jonathan Mason, sir,' Jon replied. 'And this is my fiancée, Korinne McAllister.'

'Mason?' Weaver raised an eyebrow, glancing between Tom, Hal, and Jon. 'Related to you, Tom?'

'My oldest,' Tom replied. 'He moved out four years before the invasion. We thought he was dead even before the skitters.'

'Huh,' Weaver nodded thoughtfully. 'Is there room for them with you? If there's not, I think they could stay with Jeanne and Lourdes.'

'Nah, we'll make it work,' Tom replied, resting one hand on Jon's shoulder. 'But first thing tomorrow, I'm going out to look for Ben and Abby.'

'Deal,' Weaver nodded. 'Take the berserkers with you, and anyone else you want.'

Tom nodded. 'Thanks, Dan.'

'Go on home,' Weaver sighed. 'Get some sleep. I know you'll be up bright and early tomorrow. Dismissed.'

Tom nodded and led his sons and Korinne out of the command tent. 'Hal, did you guys find fuel?'

'Yeah, we hit the jackpot,' Hal grinned. 'Filled up everything, and there's plenty more where it came from. It's on our way to Charleston, too. We could swing by and fill up everything we can spare.'

'Did you tell Weaver?' Tom asked. The four trudged through the rain and mud towards the Masons' tent, passing the truck on their way.

'First thing,' Hal replied. 'He's thrilled. Hopefully the skitters and mechs didn't destroy it.'

'Well, I think you would've noticed the explosion if they had blown up the gas station,' Tom grinned.

'True,' Hal laughed in reply. As they approached the tent, the flap moved aside to reveal Maggie and Anne standing there. The four climbed into the tent.

'Hey,' Maggie grinned, embracing Hal. 'You're wet.'

'Yeah, a little,' Hal laughed. 'I don't know if you noticed, but it's kind of raining out there.'

'No, I didn't notice,' Maggie teased.

'Jonny!?' Matt exclaimed. He was sitting on Tom and Anne's bed with Lexie and Colm. The small girls were sitting on their cots in the back, and the three older boys were sitting in a circle on Dallon and Harlem's side of the tent.

'Hey, Matty,' Jon grinned down at the boy. 'How are you?'

'What are you doing here?' Matt asked, looking troubled.

'I survived the alien apocalypse,' Jon smiled.

Matt smiled slightly, then turned back to Lexie and Colm.

'Uh, Jon, this is Anne,' Tom said. 'My wife.'

'Nice to meet you,' Jon said slowly, shaking Anne's hand.

'It's great to meet you too,' Anne smiled. 'I'm sorry about your mother.'

'Thanks,' Jon nodded. 'Oh, right. This is my fiancée, Korinne.'

'Hi,' Korinne smiled, shaking Anne's hand. 'It's nice to meet you.'

'This is Maggie,' Hal said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

'Right, and this is Lexie,' Tom added, gesturing to Alexis. 'That's Colm, Jimmy, Harlem, Dallon, Summer, Mariah, and Amanda. They're Abby's pack.'

'Pack?' Korinne repeated.

'Family,' Dallon said, glowering at the girl.

'Are you her sister?' Jimmy asked. 'She told us about you.'

'The good stuff, I hope,' Korinne forced a smile.

'Sure,' Jimmy replied.

'Where's Abby?' Colm asked, reaching over and tugging on Tom's jacket.

'Abby and Ben aren't back yet,' Tom replied. 'They're making sure skitters and mechs don't find us.'

'Where are they?' Colm whimpered. 'Where's Abby?'

'If they're not back by morning, I promise you that I will go and find them,' Tom said, crouching down to look Colm in the eye.

'We'll go with you,' Jimmy said. 'You could use some spike-backs.'

'Thank you,' Tom nodded.

'Me too!' cried Matt.

'Me and Hal, too,' Maggie added. 'We'll find them.'

* * *

><p><strong>Well! So I did forget about this... Not really, I was just procrastinating and being a bad college student by not doing anything I should do (including updating my fanfiction regularly...). You guys should all love my roommate, BrokenSky49, who is forcing me to update this INSTEAD OF FRICKING STUDYING FOR GERMAN WHICH I HAVE A MIDTERM IN TOMORROW MORNING! CURSES UPON YOU AND PUDGY, DUDE!<strong>

**Anyway, responding to reviews:**

**Derekv: Thank you! I'm glad you like it (:**

**melsol: I'm glad you appreciate the cliffhangers! Here's another one for you *evil laugh* (sorry...)**

**Lea97: Thank you!**

**BrokenSky49: ...shut up... troll...**


	12. Chapter 12

Jon woke the next morning to shouts and the sounds of vehicles pulling into the clearing. 'Mom! Mom!' he heard Matt shouting. 'Mom!' the boy burst into the tent. 'Mom, come quick! We found Ben and Abby!'

Anne scrambled out of bed, stopping only to put on her shoes and grab her jacket before following Matt outside. Jon leapt up and ran to the entryway, peering out. The downpour of the night before had once again tapered to a drizzle; the sky was full of steel grey clouds, but the clearing was lit by sunlight from behind them. Jon saw his father moving towards the bus next to the tent, Abby in his arms, followed by a huge man in a yellow plaid jacket bearing Ben.

'Med-bus!' Anne bellowed. She sprinted towards the bus, turning around halfway there to shout at Matt: 'Get Lourdes!'

Tom and the other man disappeared into the bus for a few minutes before reappearing. Matt returned leading a young Hispanic girl. She boarded the bus, and he attempted to follow, only to be stopped by Tom. Jon grabbed his shoes and jogged over to where Tom and Matt were waiting outside the bus, the other man having returned to the vehicles.

'Dad!' Jon called as he approached. 'What's going on? Are they okay?'

'I don't know,' Tom replied grimly. 'They have some form of hypothermia, but other than that they looked fine.'

Korrine arrived next to them, breathless and concerned. 'Is Abby in there?'

'Yes,' Tom nodded. He stopped her when she tried to board the bus. 'Let Anne and Lourdes have their space. They'll do what they can for Abby and Ben.'

Lourdes appeared in the doorway. 'Anne says to go inside. She doesn't want to have to deal with anyone else getting sick. I'll come get you once we know more.'

Tom nodded and herded the trio back to the tent. They arrived to find everyone awake. Jimmy, Harlem, Dallon, Hal, and Maggie had returned, damp, and were sitting in various places around the tent.

'Is Abby going to be okay?' Colm whimpered. He was sitting on Tom and Anne's bed again, next to Lexie.

'Anne is going to do everything she can,' Tom replied.

'Abby and Ben will be fine,' Jimmy said. 'They're fighters. They'll pull through.'

'He's right,' Maggie agreed. 'They survived being harnessed. Abby survived a year or more with the rebel skitters. They're going to be fine.'

'I hope so,' Matt murmured, looking in the direction of the med-bus.

The atmosphere in the tent grew more and more tense as the hours passed. Harlem and Dallon left to go on patrol, followed by Jimmy almost an hour later. Jeanne arrived with soup for lunch, which they accepted gratefully. Tom and Jon alternated pacing for a while, before they both finally settled down to wait. Korinne entertained the younger girls by intricately braiding their hair. Maggie and Hal went on patrol just before Harlem and Dallon returned. Weaver stopped by and settled down next to Tom.

'How's it going?' he asked.

'We haven't heard anything,' Tom replied.

'They're in good hands,' Weaver said, looking around at the worried faces in the tent. 'Anne and Lourdes'll do their best.'

'Hey,' Lourdes's voice came from the tent door.

'Well?' Tom demanded, leaping to his feet.

'Late second-stage hypothermia,' Lourdes replied. 'We're doing what we can, but we just don't have the equipment for the treatment they really need.'

'What don't you have?' Tom asked. 'I thought all you had to do was warm them up.'

'For late stages of hypothermia, patients need active internal rewarming,' Lourdes replied. 'This is done by pumping heated dextrose and saline through them. This also helps with the dehydration. We simply don't have the equipment to do this. We're sticking with active external rewarming, because that's what we have the equipment and ability to do. That's basically just keeping them dry and warm, using blankets and warm clothes. Usually, we'd use hot water bottles and the heated IV fluids, or have them inhale warmed, humidified air, but, like I said, we don't have the equipment for that. Jeanne has been helping us by boiling water, then cooling it down enough to get them to try and drink it, but there really isn't much else we can do.'

'Are they going to be okay?' Korinne asked, gripping Jon's arm tightly.

'We don't know yet,' Lourdes admitted. 'They're definitely not out of the woods yet.'

'When will we know?' Jon asked.

'I'll let you know once we have a better idea of what's going on with them,' Lourdes replied before turning to Tom. 'Tom, I need to talk with you outside, please.'

Tom nodded and followed her out. She led him to the med-bus, but stopped outside and faced him. 'Frankly, Tom, we don't know much. We're trying to raise their core temperatures back up, but it's hard without the equipment. Also, there's a chance that some of their organs failed while they were freezing. We can't see anything, so we don't know. It doesn't look good.'

Tom rested his head in his hands. 'Can I go in?'

Lourdes nodded. 'But only you. Anne doesn't want anyone else, especially not the kids, in there.'

Tom nodded in agreement and boarded the bus. Resting in the two parallel cots were two cocoons of blankets. Tom moved further into the bus. At the ends of the beds, he saw the pale faces of the two teenagers. He moved to Ben's side and brushed his fingers against his white cheek.

'Hey,' Anne murmured, resting her hand on Tom's shoulder.

'Hey,' he replied.

'Lourdes, go see if Jeanne has some water for us,' Anne instructed. Wordlessly, Lourdes left, softly closing the bus door behind her.

'What do you think?' Tom asked, turning from Ben to Abby. 'Will they make it?'

'I can't say,' Anne replied grimly. 'Their core temperatures were borderline severe hypothermia. I don't know if any of their organs shut down.'

'Any frostbite?' Tom asked.

'No,' Anne shook her head. 'Fortunately.'

Tom nodded, turning back to Ben. 'Can I stay here?'

'Not right now,' Anne replied. 'Go back and try to sleep. Lourdes and I will have to sleep eventually, and you can stay with them then.'

'Okay,' Tom nodded. 'What should I tell the kids?'

'That we're doing what we can but we don't know anything for sure yet,' Anne shrugged. 'Be honest, but not too honest.'

'Okay,' Tom nodded. He turned and embraced Anne, kissing her on the lips. 'You can do it.'

'Thank you for your faith,' Anne smiled wryly. 'Go. I'll come for you in a few hours.'

Tom nodded again and left the bus. He walked slowly back to the tent, trudging through the mud.

'Dad!' Matt exclaimed as Tom entered the tent. Jimmy had returned from his patrol, and was holding Mariah and Amanda on his lap. 'What's the news?'

'They don't know anything yet,' Tom replied. 'They might not for a while. Anne and Lourdes are doing what they can.'

'Can we see them?' Dallon asked.

'Not right now,' Tom answered. 'Anne doesn't want anyone to disturb them.' He sat down on the bed and pulled off his boots and jacket. 'I'm going to get some sleep. Anne wants me to sit with them while she and Lourdes sleep tonight.'

Jimmy nodded. 'We'll keep it down.'

'Thanks,' Tom replied. 'Don't worry, guys. If anyone can save them, it's Anne and Lourdes.'

'Tom?' Anne said, gently shaking him awake.

Tom looked around blearily. 'What? What's going on?'

'I need you to sit with Ben and Abby for a few hours so Lourdes and I can sleep,' Anne whispered. She stood up and stepped back, avoiding Dallon, who was sprawled across the floor.

Tom slipped out of bed, careful not to crawl on Lexie or Colm, both of whom were curled up next to him. He pulled on his boots and jacket and followed Anne to the med-bus.

'There are blankets here, which you know,' she said. 'If they start shivering, tuck another blanket around them. 'If _anything_ happens, and I mean anything at all, come and get me right away. Especially if they wake up.'

Tom nodded. 'Blankets there. If anything happens, come get you.'

'Good,' Anne nodded and smiled. 'I'll come back when I wake up, probably around dawn. Try not to fall asleep.'

'Okay,' Tom nodded. He kissed Anne on the forehead and watched her leave, shutting the bus door firmly after her. He moved to the middle section of the bus, where a metal stool was set next to Abby's bed. He moved the stool closer to Ben's cot and settled down onto it, watching his son's pale face as the blankets rose and fell with Ben's slow breathing.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! Please leave a review; they make my day :3<strong>

**To those who reviewed the last chapter: thanks so much! I don't remember what was said, but you're all so lovely ^^**

**Also, I got a fish. Just felt like sharing that...**


	13. Chapter 13

Tom didn't realize that he had drifted off until he slipped off the stool. He caught himself on the cabinet behind Abby's bed and stood, rubbing his eyes. He glanced at the two and noticed that Ben's breathing had sped up. 'Ben?' he said, stepping to his son's side and brushing his hand against his face. Gladly, he noticed that two spots of color had returned to the pale cheeks.

Ben's eyes fluttered slowly open, coming to focus on Tom's face after several seconds. 'D-Dad?' he stuttered. 'W-what's going on?'

'You and Abby have hypothermia,' Tom replied, brushing Ben's hair out of his face.

'Why can't I move?' Ben asked, wriggling slightly.

'Careful, stay still,' Tom cautioned. 'You're bundled up in blankets.'

A cough from the other side of the bus drew the Masons' attention.

'Abby?' Tom asked, moving to the girl's side. Her eyelids fluttered open to reveal big, chocolate-brown irises.

'Wha…' she started, trailing off as a racking cough tore through her throat.

'You two hang tight for a minute,' Tom said. 'I need to go get Anne. Don't move.'

Tom ran out of the bus and sprinted to the tent. He found Anne curled up at the end of their bed, Colm and Lexie have occupied the middle when he left. He rested a hand on her shoulder. 'Anne,' he whispered. She woke up instantly. 'Ben and Abby are awake.'

Anne jumped into action immediately, jamming her feet into her shoes and running after Tom to the med-bus.

'Anne?' Ben asked when they boarded the bus.

'Hey, Ben,' she smiled down at him. 'How are you feeling?'

'I'm kind of cold,' Ben replied. 'And my chest and head hurt, but other than that I'm fine.'

'Good,' Anne nodded. She turned to Abby. 'How about you?'

'I can't breathe right,' Abby gasped. 'It feels like an asthma attack.'

'Okay,' Anne soothed. 'Tom, come here. Abby, we're going to unwrap you and sit you up so you can breathe more easily.'

Abby nodded as Tom joined Anne by her side. They unwrapped her gently and Tom carefully raised her up. 'Is that better?' Anne asked.

'A little,' Abby replied.

'Tom, sit behind her so she can lean on you,' Anne instructed. 'I'll see if I can find some albuterol.'

Tom obeyed her wordlessly, sitting down on the cot and letting Abby lean against him. She squirmed around to sit up as straight as possible, then raised her arms and resting her wrists on her head.

'Ow!' she cried as she extended one of her arms.

'What's wrong?' Anne asked, taking the appendage in her hands.

'My elbow,' Abby whimpered. 'I can't straighten it.'

'It doesn't feel broken,' Anne said, using her thumb to massage the joint. 'Maybe you cracked it.'

'I have before,' Abby replied.

'That's probably it,' Anne said. 'Tom, support her arm. I'm going to find something to wrap it in. Does anything else hurt?'

'My right wrist and right ankle,' Abby replied.

'Have you hurt those before, too?' Anne asked.

'My ankle,' Abby said. 'I've sprained it.'

'It could just be the severe cold affecting the tendons,' Anne sighed. 'Do either of you remember what happened?'

'We crashed the bike,' Ben spoke up. 'We were riding Jon's dirtbike and we crashed.'

'Are you hurt?' Anne asked.

'My right arm,' Ben replied. 'It aches. I must have fallen weird on it.'

'Maybe,' Anne said. 'I'll check it out in a minute.' She found several rolls of ace bandages in a drawer and pulled out three. 'Abby, can you sit up on your own?'

'I think so,' Abby nodded.

'Tom, prop her against the wall,' Anne instructed. 'Wrap up her elbow, wrist, and ankle. Do you know how to wrap a sprain?'

'I played lacrosse in high school and college, and have a son who did the same,' Tom laughed. 'Wrapping sprains is second nature.'

'Good,' Anne smiled. 'That's what you need to do. I'm going to take a look at Ben's arm.'

'Okay,' Tom nodded, taking the bandages from her. He maneuvered Abby so that she was against the wall and began bandaging her elbow.

'Well, the good news is, your arm isn't broken,' Anne informed Ben.

'Bad news?' Ben asked.

'Your shoulder is partially out of joint, and your wrist is badly sprained,' Anne sighed. 'I'm going to pop your shoulder back in; this is going to hurt.' Ben nodded, gripping the side of the bed with his left hand. Anne carefully positioned herself next to him and pulled the joint into place. 'There. How does that feel?'

'It still hurts, but a lot less,' Ben replied.

'It might be stiff for a while,' Anne said. 'Make sure you move it around and stretch it. I'll let you know when and how.'

Ben nodded as Anne fetched another ace wrap and began to wrap his wrist. 'Anything else hurt?'

'My leg is burning,' he replied.

'You scraped it up pretty bad,' Anne nodded. 'We cleaned it up and covered the worst parts. That might hurt for a while. Is that it?'

'Yeah,' Ben nodded.

'Abby, how are your lungs?' Anne asked, turning towards the girl. 'Is it getting easier to breathe?'

'A little,' Abby replied.

'Did you have lung problems before you were harnessed?' Anne asked, turning back to Ben and beginning to give him a check-up.

'Yeah,' Abby replied. 'Asthma. Pretty bad.'

'Have you had lung problems since you were deharnessed?' Anne asked.

'Um, not really,' Abby replied. 'If I run for a long time, or in the winter, sometimes.'

'What about you, Ben?' Anne asked. 'You had asthma before, right?'

'Yeah,' Ben nodded. 'I haven't had any problems.'

'It could be because my spikes are damaged,' Abby suggested. 'I mean, that has affected basically everything else, so why not my lungs?'

'Good point,' Anne agreed. 'Ben, you look good. Get some more sleep.' Ben nodded and obediently curled up beneath the blankets once again before drifting off. 'Let's take a look at you, Abby,' Anne turned to the girl. 'How's that wrist and ankle, Tom?'

'Well, they don't feel broken,' Tom replied.

'I was able to put weight on my ankle and use my wrist after we fell,' Abby said. 'Immediately after. They can't be broken.'

'Okay,' Anne nodded. She started a check-up for Abby. 'How's your breathing?'

'Getting better,' Abby replied.

'I'll look for some albuterol in a minute,' Anne said. 'You're looking pretty good.' She turned to Tom. 'If you want to go back to the tent and go to sleep, I'll be back in a little. These two will be fine until morning.'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, in retrospect, this is a really weird chapter. It felt good writing it, but I now feel like there's a lot wrong with it... idk.**

**Anyways, as always, please review!**

**And to mickiticki: My fish is a betta fish. He's very pretty :3**


	14. Chapter 14

Tom woke up the next morning to find a pair of bare feet stuck in his face. He moved his head to see who the feet belonged to and found Colm sprawled across the middle of the bed, next to Lexie. Anne was sitting on the far side, pulling on her shoes. Most of the kids were gone; besides Colm and Lexie, only Mariah and Amanda were still asleep.

'Morning,' Anne smiled tiredly at Tom. 'I was just about to go check on Ben and Abby.'

'I'll come with,' Tom said, slipping out of bed.

'Okay,' Anne nodded. She waited while Tom slipped on his shoes and grabbed his coat and gun belt, and the two left together.

'Hey!' Hal grinned at them from the sputtering flame he had coaxed from wet wood. 'Breakfast is ready. You guys want some oatmeal?'

'In a minute,' Anne replied. 'We're going to check on Abby and Ben.'

'How are they?' Maggie asked.

'Okay,' Anne sighed. 'I think they escaped organ failure, which is fantastic. They have some minor injuries from crashing the dirtbike, but I'm not worried about those. I am worried about Abby, though. I think she's developing bronchitis, and I don't have anything to treat it with or make it easier for her to breathe.'

'How is that possible?' Maggie asked. 'Don't the spikes keep them from getting sick?'

'Abby's spikes are damaged,' Jimmy replied. 'She got sick last winter too.'

'That's probably it,' Anne agreed. 'We'll be back in a few minutes.'

She and Tom turned and continued to the med-bus. When they boarded, they found the two teenagers still sound asleep; Abby was lying on her stomach, her head turned towards the curtained window of the bus and her feet hanging off the bed, while Ben was curled up on his side, facing the aisle, with his blankets pushed down around his waist.

Anne checked both teen's pulses and breathing, and was clearly satisfied. 'Abby's lungs aren't clear, but they're not too bad. Hopefully the spikes are helping her fight off the bronchitis.'

'Hopefully,' Tom nodded. 'I'm guessing you didn't find what you were looking for? For her lungs?' he asked as he pulled Ben's blankets back up.

'The albuterol?' Anne said. 'No. I thought I had some, but I guess not.'

'That's an inhaler, right?' Tom turned to Anne. 'Like, for asthma?'

'Yes,' Anne nodded. 'If you find any while you're scouting, grab them. Abby will need them if this gets worse.'

Tom nodded, glancing back down at Ben as the boy started to stir. He watched his eyes flutter open and focus on his father's face. 'Dad?' Ben murmured sleepily. 'What's going on?'

'How are you feeling?' Tom asked.

'Pretty good,' Ben replied. 'My shoulder and wrist are killing me.'

'Here,' said Anne, bustling over. 'Advil. And water.' She said, handing him two small pills and a cup of water. 'Take them.'

Ben obeyed, sitting up and taking the pills. 'How's Abby?'

'She's still asleep,' Anne replied. 'I'll know more when she wakes up.'

'Okay,' Ben nodded. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. 'Can I eat something? I'm starving.'

Anne laughed. 'Tom, would you mind going and getting Ben some oatmeal from outside?'

'Can't I go?' Ben sighed. 'I don't want to just lie around.'

'I don't know…" Anne started.

'Please?' Ben asked. 'I'll come right back in after I eat.'

'Okay,' Anne agreed. 'But I don't know where your shoes ended up. You can't go out barefoot.'

'What if I wear socks?' Ben asked.

'The ground is wet,' Anne replied. 'Your feet would get wet anyways.'

'I could carry him,' Tom suggested mischievously.

Ben laughed. 'I think I'm a little too big for that, Dad.'

'It's only a few feet,' Tom joked. 'I'll manage.'

'I don't want you throwing your back out,' Anne said sternly. 'How about just finding Ben's shoes?'

'I've carried Pope further than the distance between the bus and the fire,' Tom replied. 'It'll be fine.'

'Fine,' Anne sighed. 'I can tell I'm not going to win this one.'

'Okay,' Tom grinned. He turned so that his back was to Ben and, hesitantly, Ben scooted forward to wrap his arms around his dad's shoulders and his leg's around his waist. 'Here we go,' Tom grunted, lifting Ben off of the stretcher. He moved easily to the door, which Ben opened for him, and stepped out of the bus.

'Hey!' Hal called, laughing, when he caught sight of his father and brother making their way to the fire. 'What's this?'

'Anne doesn't want him getting his feet wet,' Tom replied.

'Where are your shoes?' Maggie asked as Tom let Ben down near the fire and he sat down between Maggie and Matt.

'I have no idea,' Ben shrugged his left shoulder. 'I was kind of unconscious when I got here.'

'How are you feeling?' Jimmy asked, grinning at Ben from across the sputtering fire. 'You don't look too bad.'

'I _feel_ pretty good,' Ben replied, accepting a cup of oatmeal from Hal.

'I heard you crashed my bike?' Jon said teasingly.

'Yes,' Ben replied, staring at his brother without blinking. 'Well, it got shot out from under us and exploded. Basically, you don't have a bike anymore.'

Jon shrugged. 'It was a crappy bike anyways.'

Ben paused. 'Yeah, it was,' he said, smiling slightly.

'Who shot it?' Matt asked. 'A mech?'

'A Volm,' Ben replied grimly. 'We ditched the skitters and mechs just to run into a patrol of Volm. I guess they're still trying to ship all humans off to Brazil, cos they chased us for a while.'

'Yeah, and I bet you gave them a hell of a chase,' Maggie grinned, poking at Ben's ribs with her elbow.

'Course they did!' Hal joked. 'I'm the one who taught him how to ride.'

'We did,' Ben grinned. 'We almost dodged the shot completely. It barely clipped us.'

'Still, you're lucky the explosion didn't kill you,' Tom said. 'Volm guns are powerful.'

'The first shot took out the bike,' Ben explained. 'We got out from under it and a few feet away before the next shot blew it up.'

'Did it hurt?' Matt asked, looking up at Ben.

'Oh yeah, lots,' Ben teased. 'Just kidding. We had too much adrenaline going through us for it to hurt much.'

'Did you get hurt?' Harlem piped up from next to Jimmy.

'Not too bad,' Ben nodded. 'I dislocated my shoulder and sprained my wrist.'

'That sounds like it would hurt,' Summer said, her eyes wide.

'It's fine,' Ben smiled at her. 'Anne fixed me up.'

'Did Abby get hurt?' Summer asked.

'A little,' Ben replied. 'She sprained her wrist and ankle, and Anne thinks she cracked her elbow.'

'Ouch,' Harlem winced. 'That sounds painful.'

Ben shrugged with his good shoulder as he finished his breakfast. 'I should probably get you back inside,' Tom sighed, standing up. 'Come on.'

'Do I have to go now?' Ben sighed, glancing back over his shoulder at the bus. 'It's so boring in there.'

'Yes, you do,' Tom laughed. 'At least until Anne says otherwise. And we find your shoes.'

'How are you going to pick him up?' Hal challenged. 'No way can you stand up with him on your back.'

'I can jump,' Ben said. 'Although…'

'That would probably knock me over,' Tom laughed. 'Come on, stand up.' Ben complied, setting his cup on the ground. Tom looked at his son, realizing how tall Ben was—almost as tall as him. Before Ben could react, Tom doubled over and shoved his shoulder into Ben's stomach, flinging the boy over his shoulder and eliciting a yelp from Ben.

'Ow,' Ben groaned as his dad started back towards the bus. 'You couldn't think of anything better?'

'Nope,' Tom laughed. When he reached the bus, he opened the door and set Ben on his feet on the step. 'There you go.'

'Don't do that again,' Ben mock-threatened, rubbing his stomach.

'Come on in,' Anne called, leaning towards Ben. 'I want to keep you under observation for another twenty-four hours, at least.'

Ben groaned but obeyed, trudging back to his cot and clambering onto it. 'Another day?'

'Yes,' Anne nodded. 'Longer if I feel you need it.'

Ben sighed and rested his head against the wall.

'Ow,' Abby said suddenly, accompanied by a crash from her cot.

'Are you okay?' Anne said, concerned, bending over the girl.

'I forgot about my arms,' Abby said sheepishly. 'I'm fine.'

'How is your breathing?' Anne asked as Abby squirmed around onto her back and sat up.

'Okay, I guess,' Abby shrugged. 'It feels kind of tickly and raspy, and all I want to do is cough.'

'Okay,' Anne nodded. She put on her stethoscope and stuck the end up the back of Abby's shirt, earning a squeak from Abby as the cold circle of metal came to rest on her back. 'Take a deep breath,' Anne instructed. Abby complied, and Anne moved her stethoscope. 'Again,' she said. Abby obeyed again, but dissolved into a triad of wet, gooey coughs. Anne sighed and removed her stethoscope. 'That doesn't sound good. There are a few things we can do without albuterol.' She sighed again and stepped back. 'I wish we had some hot water bottles.'

'Do you want me to ask around, see if I can find one?' Tom asked.

'No, I think it'll be okay,' Anne replied. 'I can substitute cloths soaked in hot water. That will help you breathe.'

Abby nodded. 'Okay. And sitting up will help, right?'

'Yes,' Anne nodded. 'Stay sitting up as much as possible, and drink lots of fluids. I want you to stay in here, and if you _have_ to go outside, I want your mouth and nose covered with something.'

'Okay,' Abby nodded.

'Are you hungry?' Anne asked. 'You might not be if you're congested.'

'A little,' Abby shrugged. 'But you're right, not really.'

'Well, you should eat something anyways,' Anne replied. 'Tom, can you get Abby some oatmeal?'

'Sure,' Tom nodded. He disembarked from the bus and returned to the campfire. 'Can I have some oatmeal for Abby?' he asked Hal.

'Sure,' Hal nodded. He took one of the metal cups and filled it up. 'She can't come out?'

'Anne thinks she's developing bronchitis,' Tom replied. 'The cold air is bad for her lungs.'

Hal nodded as he handed the cup to his dad. 'Here. Tell Anne she better hurry up and get some or there won't be any left for her!'

'I will!' Tom laughed as he returned to the bus. He handed the oatmeal to Abby once he had boarded. 'Anne, Hal suggests that you hurry up if you want some oatmeal.'

Anne laughed. 'Will do.' She looked at Ben and Abby. 'I'll be back to check on you guys later. Just hang tight in here. Lourdes should be by in a little while, so if you need anything, talk to her.'

'If you get bored, play "I spy",' Tom joked as he followed Anne off of the bus.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, so this chapter is kind of dull and a little weird. My knowledge of bronchitis is limited to my own experiences with it and from what I found on Wikipedia, so it might not be super accurate... Oh well ^^**

**Anyways, as usual, please review if you liked it/have suggestions/etc. :3**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! So, my roommate reminded me that I haven't updated in about a month sooo... here you go! So, fun fact, I turn 18 tomorrow :3 as a present, I'll try to update my Doctor Who fic and maaayyybeee start the backstory for a new fic :3**

* * *

><p>'What?' Ben asked, propping himself up on his left elbow to look at her.<p>

'It's snowing,' Abby grinned childishly, pulling the curtain aside to show Ben the fat white flakes drifting down from the cloudy grey sky.

'Yeah,' Ben smiled. He pulled back his own curtain to look out. 'Hey, it looks like they're packing up camp.'

'Maybe they're worried about the skitters and mechs from the town we found your brother and Korinne in,' Abby suggested. She slipped off of her bed and padded over to Ben's. He obligingly slid to the end of the bed so she could sit next to him and peer out the window.

'More likely the Volm,' Ben replied. 'We barely got away from them in Boston. If they catch us again, it's off to Brazil.'

Abby shrugged. 'Either way, it looks like they want to get out of here.'

'Abby!' they heard the shriek from the front of the bus, accompanied by pattering feet.

'Colm!' Abby grinned. She hoisted the boy onto the bed, setting of a new round of hacking coughs.

'That sounds gross,' Matt said. He and Summer had boarded the bus after Colm and sat down on Abby's cot.

'It doesn't feel to good either,' Abby smiled.

'What's going on?' Ben asked Matt. 'Are we moving out?'

'First thing tomorrow morning,' Matt nodded. 'Weaver doesn't think it's safe here with the Volm, skitters, and mechs you guys ran into. We're going to go through that town with the fuel if scouts clear it and fill up, find what we can.'

'How are you guys feeling?' Summer asked, brushing her blonde hair out of her face in a surprisingly mature motion.

'Okay,' Abby smiled.

Ben shrugged. 'Not bad.'

'Oh yeah,' Matt said suddenly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two packets of food. 'Dad said to give you guys these. It's too wet to build a fire.'

'Thanks,' Ben said, accepting the packages and giving one to Abby.

'Anne said we could come in, but only two or three at a time,' Matt said. 'So, basically, everyone will be stopping by throughout the day.'

Ben nodded. 'We can help pack up,' he said.

'No, you cannot,' Lourdes called from the back of the bus, where everyone had forgotten she was curled up on the couch, reading a book. 'Anne says no leaving the bus, especially not to do work like packing up camp. Remember your wrist, Ben.'

Ben sighed. 'It was worth a try.'

'Yeah, although that wasn't a very good one,' Lourdes retorted, snapping her book shut and walking forward to join them.

'We're gonna go now,' Matt said, hopping off of the bed and tugging Summer with him. 'Here's your lunch, Lourdes,' he added, handing her a third packet.

'Come on, Colm,' Summer said. 'Remember, we promised Anne we'd help clean up the tent.'

'Bye, Abby!' Colm called, hopping off of the bed and following Matt and Summer out of the bus.

Abby shivered as the open door let in a draft of cold air. 'It's a little chilly,' she said, after coughing several times.

'Just a little,' Lourdes smiled sympathetically before sitting down on Abby's vacated cot. 'How is your breathing?'

'Okay,' Abby shrugged.

'Make sure you keep drinking lots of water,' Lourdes instructed.

Abby nodded. 'I am.'

'Good,' Lourdes nodded. The three looked over as the door opened again and Jon and Korinne boarded the bus.

'Hey, guys,' Jon smiled.

'What do you want?' Ben grumbled, pulling his knees back up to his chest and glaring at Jon.

'I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're okay,' Jon sighed. 'And thank you for finding us and getting us out of that ghost town.'

'You're welcome,' Ben grumbled.

Jon sighed again. 'Look, Ben, I know that there's been a lot between us in the past. I know I haven't been there for you guys like an older brother should be. And I'm sorry. I wish I could change the past, but I can't. All I can do is change who I am and make a better future.'

Obstinately, Ben turned his head and stared out the window, ignoring his brother. Jon sighed a third time and threw up his hands. Korinne placed on hand on his shoulder and stepped towards Abby. Unnoticed, Lourdes stood and slipped into the back, picking up her book and opening it.

'Abby-bear?' Korinne smiled tentatively, pulling on her childhood nickname for her sister as she sat down on Abby's cot.

'Don't call me that,' Abby rolled her eyes. 'I'm not a little kid anymore.'

'I know,' Korinne's smile grew sad. 'I've noticed. You grew up.'

'No shit,' Abby shot back. 'I grew up while you ran off and did whatever the hell you wanted. I took care of Nate while Mom and Dad fought and argued and got a divorce. I grew up while our family tore itself apart.' She stood up and stared her older sister down as she continued to rant. 'I grew up when I came home from school one day to find Mom dead in the living room, ripped apart by mech bullets. I grew up when the skitters kidnapped me and put a harness on my back. I grew up when the rebel skitters cut off my harness and—' another bout of coughing cut off her words, causing her to double over as she hacked and tried to take in air.

'Okay, that's enough!' Lourdes exclaimed, dropping her book and hurrying to Abby's side. 'Both of you, out,' she ordered, helping Abby straighten up.

Wordlessly, her eyes filling with tears, Korinne jumped to her feet and hurried to the door, followed by Jonathan.

'Is she okay?' Ben asked, watching as Lourdes sat Abby down on her cot, keeping her body straight and lifting her arms over her head.

'I think so,' Lourdes replied over Abby's hacking. 'If this doesn't calm down in a few minutes, though, I'm going to need you to get Anne.'

Ben waited as Lourdes attempted to calm Abby's breathing and coughing. After almost two minutes, the hacking began to abate, to Ben and Lourdes's relief. After another few seconds, Abby began to breathe normally again, only coughing every few breaths. She was crying and gasping, her breath rattling in her chest.

'It's okay,' Lourdes soothed. She sat down on the bed next to Abby, wrapping on arm around her shoulders and stroking her hair. 'Just calm down. You're going to be fine.'

Abby let her arms drop into her lap and slumped against Lourdes, clearly exhausted. She continued to take in deep gulps of air, coughing every few breaths. She sobbed into Lourdes's shoulder.

'Abby?' Lourdes said, leaning away from her to try to peer at her face. 'How are you feeling?'

'I'm okay,' Abby said, pushing away from Lourdes. 'Thank you.'

'Sure,' Lourdes nodded. She stood up and bustled to the water tank, filling a cup with water and handing it to Abby. 'Drink this.'

Abby accepted the cup and drank it slowly, managing not to cough water out. 'Thank you,' she repeated, handing the cup back to Lourdes.

'Of course,' Lourdes set the cup on top of the tank. 'Maybe you should try to get some sleep.'

'No, it's okay,' Abby replied. 'I'm fine now. I don't want to sleep right now; if I do, I won't be able to tonight.'

'Okay,' Lourdes nodded. 'Just try to keep calm for now. I'll be in the back if you need me.'

Lourdes returned to the back of the bus, settling back down on the couch and picking up her book.

'Hey,' Ben murmured, too softly for Lourdes to hear.

'Yeah?' Abby replied, equally soft.

'Are you okay?' Ben whispered.

'I don't know,' Abby let out a shaky breath. 'I just can't deal with Korinne right now.'

Ben nodded. 'I know how you feel. Sounds like we feel about the same about our older siblings.'

Abby smiled and let out a tiny chuckle. 'Sounds like.' She paused and sat in silence, her back to the wall of her side of the trailer, legs crossed, staring at Ben, who was sitting still with his legs pulled up to his chest and his arms crossed over them, his head resting on his arms and turned towards Abby. 'Hey,' Abby said as Ben started to turn away.

'Yeah?' Ben asked, looking back at Abby.

'Can I sit with you?' she asked, her eyes threatening to spill over with tears again.

'Sure,' Ben nodded, scooting back. Abby stood up and slipped across the aisle, sitting down on the bed in front of Ben, her back to him. Wordlessly, he moved his legs and she scooted back, leaning against his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. Ben wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his chin on the top of her head.

'Who's that?' Abby asked, pointing out the window. 'Those guys Dallon and Harlem are with.'

'Those are the Berserkers,' Ben replied. 'The one who found you guys in the woods is Pope, their leader. The big one with the plaid jacket is Lyle. Tector is the one with the ponytail, and Anthony is the black guy.'

'Berserkers?' Abby repeated. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'All they care about is killing as many skitters as they can,' Ben explained. 'They don't care what it takes.'

'What were they before all this?' Abby asked. 'What made them like that?'

'Well, Pope was a convict,' Ben chuckled. 'Tec was a former Marine sniper. Anthony was in the Boston PD. I don't know about Lyle, though.'

'Is it okay for Dallon and Harlem to be around them?' Abby asked, concerned.

'Probably,' Ben grinned. 'Matt hangs around them a lot. They're definitely not very good influences, but Dallon and Harlem can handle themselves, I'm sure.'

Abby let out a soft, wheezing laugh. 'Sure they can.'

'It seems like you and Jimmy kind of… parent the other kids,' Ben said as they watched Dallon and Harlem help the Berserkers pack up their mini-camp.

'Kind of,' Abby shrugged awkwardly. 'I was the first. The first of us deharnessed, that is. Then it was Amanda, Harlem, Colm, Dallon, Jimmy, and Mariah. When it was just me, Amanda, Harlem, and Colm, I kind of acted like a mother to them. We packed up, and became a family, and I ended up in charge because I was the oldest. When Dallon packed up with us, he didn't really care about what was going on; he just wanted the family, and the connection. When Jimmy joined us, he kind of started fathering the pack because it was just the role he fit into. Even though Dallon is older than us, he isn't very authoritative so he was happy to let me and Jimmy be in charge.'

'Huh,' Ben nodded. 'You guys have an interesting dynamic.'

'Yeah,' Abby laughed. 'We do.'


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N so I realized that I haven't updated in AGES, therefore be prepared for a mass upload of the rest of this fic. Hope ya'll enjoy!**

With a sigh, Lourdes shut her book and set it down on the couch. She stood and wandered to the front of the trailer, pausing when she reached Ben and Abby. Ben was sitting up, leaning against the wall partition behind his cot. Abby was curled up further down the cot, her head resting on Ben's knee. They were both sound asleep. With a small smile, she picked up one of the blankets from Abby's cot and tucked it around the girl. She picked up a second blanket and pulled Ben forward slightly to wrap it around his shoulders. As she was leaning Ben back against the partition, the door of the bus opened and Anne stepped in, followed by Tom.

'Hey,' Lourdes smiled. 'I think they just fell asleep.'

'That's good,' Anne nodded, resting a hand on first Abby's then Ben's forehead. 'No fevers. Hopefully nothing comes out of this.'

'Like?' Tom prompted.

'A virus,' Anne replied. 'Pneumonia. Or, like I'm worried about with Abby, bronchitis.' She turned to Lourdes. 'How were they? Anything happen while I was gone?'

'Um, a little after Matt brought us lunch, Jonathan and Korinne stopped by,' Lourdes replied.

Tom sighed. 'Did Ben and Jonny fight?'

'Not really,' Lourdes shook her head. 'Ben mostly shut him out. It was Abby and Korinne who had a problem. Abby kind of flipped out on Korinne and had some sort of lung spasm. She couldn't stop coughing for a few minutes, and was having trouble breathing. She was really upset and crying, too. I had Korinne and Jonathan leave, and once Abby calmed down, she was basically fine. She coughed a few times, but her breathing was fine. I checked her with a stethoscope a little while ago, and it didn't sound like anything had changed.'

'Okay,' Anne nodded. 'That's a little disconcerting in and of itself because it means her lungs aren't clearing out on their own, at least not yet. Why don't you head over to the main fire for dinner; we'll be there son.' She brushed Abby's hair out of her face gently, looking down at the girl's peaceful face as Lourdes left the bus.

With a gasp, Abby started, her wide brown eyes flying open and looking up at Anne's face. 'Oh,' she breathed. 'Anne. It's just you.'

'Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,' Anne said.

Ben stirred and opened his eyes as Abby sat up; he blinked sleepily at his father and Anne. 'What's going on?' he asked, sitting up slightly straighter.

'We just wanted to see if you guys were hungry for dinner,' Tom smiled at his son.

'I'm starving,' Ben groaned, stretching, the blanket slipping off of his shoulders.

'I'm okay,' Abby shrugged. 'I'm probably just going to sleep some more.'

'I'd like you to eat a little something,' Anne prompted. 'Pope scrounged up some chicken and dumplings.'

'Well, I'm pretty sure it's actually fish and dumplings, but it's still good food,' Tom smiled.

'Why don't you at least come out and sit with us and see if you can get something down?' Anne suggested.

'Okay,' Abby relented.

'Great,' Anne smiled. 'Ben, your shoes are in the other section. I'll get them. Abby, I'm afraid you weren't wearing shoes when Tom and Lyle brought you in.'

'One of them got trapped under the bike when I pulled my foot out,' Abby nodded. 'I must have lost the other one while we were running through the forest. Do you have my clothes?'

'Yes, I do, but they're in pretty bad shape,' Anne sighed. 'I'm not sure we'll be able to get them clean. They're covered in mud and some blood, and they're ripped up. I was just planning to throw them away.'

'That's okay,' Abby said. 'There's just something in the pocket of my shorts that I want.'

'Okay,' Anne nodded. 'I'll grab them while I get Ben's shoes.'

'Unfortunately, we don't have any other shoes for you,' Tom said, looking at Abby. 'Would you mind if I carried you out?'

'I guess,' Abby sighed. They waited until Anne returned with Ben's shoes and Abby's shorts.

'Here you go,' she smiled, handing their clothing to them. Ben wordlessly pulled on his shoes while Abby reached into the back pocket of her shorts. With a relieved smile, she pulled out a small card.

'Good, it's still here,' Abby smiled, looking down at the card.

'What is it?' Anne asked.

'My mom's driver's license,' Abby smiled fondly. 'She had just gotten it renewed, so she gave me her old one. When I went back to the house and found her dead, I grabbed it and ran. It's all I have left of her.'

Anne nodded sympathetically. 'I understand why it's so precious to you. I don't have anything of my son or husband, and that's hard.' She smiled down at Abby. 'Come on,' she said suddenly. 'Let's get out there while there's still some food left.'

Ben slipped off of the cot, wincing as he landed on his right leg. Abby scooted to the edge of the cot so Tom could pick her up. The four left the trailer and headed for the fire burning in the center of the clearing, around which they could clearly see the rest of the 2nd Mass. When they approached, Ben snuck up behind Hal and Maggie, scaring them by smacking his hands down on their shoulders, causing those nearby to start laughing. Ben settled down between Hal and Matt as Tom set Abby down between Jimmy and Colm. Tom and Anne disappeared and returned carrying two plasticware bowls each. Tom handed one to Ben before sitting down between Maggie and Korinne, while Anne handed one to Abby and sat down between Jonathan and Dallon.

'Hey!' Jeanne smiled at Abby from a few spaces down the fire. 'How are you feeling?'

'Better, thank you,' Abby smiled gratefully as she poked at her food.

'Don't think too hard about what's in it,' Jimmy whispered. 'I'm pretty sure you don't want to know.'

Abby smiled, staring down into her bowl. She listened to the conversations going on around her: playful banter between the Mason boys, jokes exchanged by the boys of her pack, bragging comparisons of skitter kills by the Berserkers, the childish chatter of Colm and Lexie. She didn't tune into any of the conversations, instead focusing on her bowl of soup as a roaring built up in her ears.

'Abby?' she heard the call through the rushing sound. 'Abby?' she recognized Ben's voice, felt his hands grip her shoulders. She focused on his face, blinking rapidly as his features solidified in front of her. She saw Anne crouching beside Ben, and felt Jimmy's arm around her waist.

With a gasp, she dropped her bowl, the soup splattering onto Ben's shoes and pants. She looked down to find her hands shaking. She whipped her head around and stared across the river. 'Something's coming.'

Shakily, Abby rose to her feet, Ben and Jimmy supporting her.

'What's coming?' Tom demanded, appearing beside Anne. 'Abby?'

'Abby, honey, can you hear us?' Anne said. She pushed her way in between Ben and Jimmy, resting the back of one hand on Abby's forehead. Abby's eyes had unfocused again, and she stared unblinking past Ben, into the fire.

'Oh!' Jimmy yelped, turning towards the river as his spikes came to life, shining a brilliant blue. He heard Ben gasp as his spikes activated as well. The other spiked children reacted as their spikes lit up, almost lighting the clearing with their bright glow.

'Ben?' Tom asked, moving around Anne to stand next to his son. 'Ben, what is it?'

'Samson,' Ben breathed, turning his head towards Tom. Tom became alarmed when he saw Ben's face; his eyes were wide with terror, and unfocused like Abby's.

'What does he want?' Tom looked around at the terrified faces of the spiked children. Weaver had appeared at his side, and Pope stood slightly behind him.

'What the hell is going on?' Pope growled, looking at the children. Abby had paled, her pasty white skin hued blue by the glow of her pack's and Ben's spikes, and was starting to shake more violently.

'Good question,' Weaver said. 'Anne?'

'I have no idea,' Anne replied. 'All I can tell is that it's connected to their spikes.'

'Hey!' Pope shouted, pointing his gun at Dallon and Harlem as they began to stride towards the river.

Weaver pushed the barrel of the gun down, pointing it at the ground. 'No shooting unless it looks like they're going to give us over to the enemy.'

'Samson is with the rebellion,' Tom protested. 'They won't betray us to anyone.'

Weaver watched the smaller children begin to head towards the river as well, Ben, Abby, and Jimmy remaining stock still and intertwined by the fire. 'What the hell does the rebellion want with those kids?'

'Who knows,' Tom sighed. He glanced at Ben when he felt the boy stir; Ben dropped his hands from Abby's shoulders as he began moving towards the river. Seconds later, Jimmy did the same. Abby stood, shaking violently, before turning and stumbling after the boys. Her back was lit with uneven lights barely shining through her heavy sweater.

'W-what's wrong?' Korinne whimpered, gripping Jonathan's arm as she watched her sister and the other children move towards the river.

Most of the 2nd Mass followed them, hanging back at Weaver's order. Tom, Weaver, and Pope moved slightly closer than the rest of the group. To their shock, they saw a bulky figure striding across the ice that covered the river.

'I'm guessing that's this Samson fellow?' Weaver growled to Tom, leveling his gun.

Samson cut an imposing silhouette. He was big and bulky, although not tall, considering his bottom half looked like a skitter's. As he approached, the light from the distant fire and the nine children's spikes illuminated his face; around the edges, his face had grown out, extending into that of a skitter. His facial features remained human, but were mostly covered with skitter skin, as was his chest.

Samson growled as he approached, and Abby stepped to the head of the group, turning around to face the onlookers. 'I speak through Abigale only to provide the humans with the privilege of the information I am about to share with the spike-backs.'

'Thank you!' Tom called. 'We appreciate it.'

'You may not feel the same way when you hear what I have to say,' Samson said through Abby. He turned to the group of children, Abby moving with him. 'It is time. I have come as representative of the rebellion. Our offensive is prepared. You must return with me to assist in the attack.'

Anne gasped and hurried forward until Tom stopped her. 'No!' she cried. 'You can't take them!'

Samson and Abby's heads swiveled towards her. 'You do not order us, human. The spike-backs are to return with me to the rebellion in order to assist us in our largest assault to date on the Espheni.'

'Why don't you give them a choice?' Anne challenged. 'Let them choose whether or not they want to come with you.'

'That is not how it works,' Samson replied through Abby. 'They _will_ come with us.'

'Give them the choice,' Anne demanded. 'They aren't your slaves! That's how the Espheni work, not you! What, are you afraid they'll say no?'

Samson and Abby froze, proving that Anne had struck a chord. 'Of course not,' they replied, trying to cover up the misstep. 'They would choose us.'

'Then prove it,' Anne retorted. 'Let them choose.'

Samson paused again, the seconds ticking by as he pondered Anne's words. Finally, he and Abby inclined their heads. 'Very well.'

Suddenly, the blue light of the spikes vanished, and the children all visibly relaxed. Abby dropped to the ground on the river bank, and Ben rushed forward to help her up, leading her back to the group.

'No!' Jimmy shouted, stepping in front of Mariah and Amanda. 'We're not going with you!'

'We're not going to fight your war for you,' Abby said through chattering teeth.

'We're not cannon fodder,' Ben added.

Tom felt pride swell inside his chest as his son challenged the brute standing before them. He watched as Ben easily scooped Abby up; she was still shaking and her socks were undoubtedly soaked through. She wrapped her arms around his neck, shivering violently.

All of the children were silent for a few moments. 'No!' Jimmy cried suddenly.

Abby bit her lip, looked at Ben, then craned her neck to see Jimmy. 'Let's make a deal,' she said firmly. 'If me, Jimmy, Dallon, and Harlem go with you, you leave everyone else alone.'

'No!' Anne cried, earning a glare from Abby over Ben's shoulder.

'Anne, wait,' Abby said firmly before turning back to Samson. 'What do you say? Me and the boys for everyone else?'

Silence fell in the clearing once again, until Abby broke it. 'No. The deal is like I said. That or nothing.'

'I'll go,' Ben said.

'No,' Abby scowled at him and smacked him on the back of the head. 'Me, Jimmy, Dallon, Harlem. Deal or no deal?'

This time, the silence was deafening, then a rumbling voice rang out: 'No deal.' It took a few minutes for the onlookers to realize the voice had come from Samson. Several guns were raised, although they didn't have a clear shot past the children, and pointed at Samson as he turned and skittered back across the ice. However, the children's spikes remained unlit and none of them moved.

Anne broke away from Tom and rushed forward. 'What's going on?' she demanded, resting one hand on Ben's shoulder and the other on Abby's head.

'He's letting us stay,' Ben replied, dumbfounded. 'He's not going to make us go with him.'

'Why?' Anne asked, watching Samson's figure receding across the icy river.

'I don't know.'


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, Abby regained consciousness to a throbbing headache and blurry vision. She groaned and tried to sit up.

'Abby?' Lourdes called, hurrying to the girl's bedside. 'Just stay down,' she said, pressing the girl's shoulders back into the bed. 'How are you feeling?'

'Like my head is going to explode,' Abby moaned. 'And I can't see; everything is blurry.'

'I'm going to go get Dr. Glass,' Lourdes said. 'Just hang tight for a minute.'

Lourdes hurried out of the bus, the door slamming shut behind them. Abby stared at the ceiling above her, willing her vision to clear.

'Hey,' Ben called softly from the other cot.

Abby turned her head and squinted at him. To her relief, her vision began to focus, revealing Ben, sitting against the wall of the bus and staring at her.

'Hi,' she croaked, realizing how dry her mouth and throat were.

'Are you going to be okay?' Ben asked

Abby nodded painfully. 'Side effects of connecting with Samson. For me, anyways.' She attempted to swallow, trying to wet her mouth and throat. She coughed, the explosion of air ripping through her sore, dry throat.

'That doesn't sound good,' Anne said, boarding the bus.

'I'll be fine,' Abby smiled wanly. 'It's just side effects of my connection with Samson.' She groaned and sat up. 'I was connected to him for a long time. It'll wear off.'

'If you're sure,' Anne said. 'Is there anything you need?'

'Um, can I have some water?' Abby asked. 'I'll be okay in a few minutes, but I'm really thirsty.'

'Here,' Lourdes handed her a canteen full of water from the med-bus's tank.

'Just sit in here until you're feeling better,' Anne advised. 'We haven't found shoes for you, but once you're feeling better you can help me set up the bus to travel, if you feel up to it.'

'Of course,' Abby nodded. She sipped water from the canteen.

'What about me?' Ben asked.

'You're free,' Anne smiled. 'But I do want you to ride in here. Actually, we're all going to be riding in here, because of the weather. It's going to be crowded.'

'Okay, everybody, load up!' Abby heard Weaver's bellow from inside the bus. She had been helping Anne pack the bus for the past hour. Two of the cots from the Masons' tent had been bunked over the ones Abby and Ben had slept in for the past few nights. Backpacks had been stored under all three of the lower cots, blankets were folded and stacked in the cabinets, and the sleeping bags were rolled up and packed with the backpacks. In the rear-most section, with the couch, the medical supplies from the folded out section had been stored.

Outside, the clearing had been emptied of all of the 2nd Mass's belongings. Tents were folded up and packed into vehicles, and the platforms underneath them had either been dismantled or strapped onto the vehicles. For example, the Masons' tent's platform had been strapped and tied securely onto the bus, with the tent, third cot, and mattress pads loaded into it and covered by fastened-down tarps.

With the tents and everything gone, the clearing was eerily empty. The fire circles had been dismantled, the ashes scattered, log seats tossed into the woods (by Jimmy, Harlem, Dallon, and Ben who had looked like they were having a contest to see who could throw the wood farthest), and piles of extra wood scattered. The only evidence that anyone had lived there was the footprints and tire tracks in the melting snow and mud.

The door of the bus opened and the kids started boarding. Abby watched for her pack as they boarded, checking for each of her packmates.

'Professor!' Jimmy called, jogging up to the bus as Tom watched his family board.

'Yeah, Jimmy,' Tom said, turning towards the boy. 'What's going on? I thought you were riding with Weaver and Jeanne again.'

'Yeah, I am,' Jimmy nodded. 'Have you seen Dallon and Harlem?'

'Um, no, actually,' Tom frowned. 'Not since we packed the top of the bus. Why?'

'I can't find them anywhere,' Jimmy replied.

'Did they go on patrol?' Tom asked. 'You should check with Weaver.'

'I did already,' Jimmy sighed. 'He didn't send them out.'

Inside the bus, Abby watched the dialogue. As Summer passed, Abby grabbed her arm to stop her. 'Summer, what are they talking about?' she asked, nodding towards Jimmy and Tom.

Summer cocked her head towards the door, listening intently. 'Harlem and Dallon are missing,' she said. 'Jimmy's worried about them.'

Abby groaned and looked up at the ceiling. 'Great. Fantastic.' She stared up for a few seconds before turning to Ben. 'Hey, what did you say those guys Harlem and Dallon were hanging out with were?'

'The Berserkers?' Ben asked, halfway through lifting Lexie onto the cot he had spent the last few days on. 'They're just obsessed with killing skitters. Why?'

Abby groaned again and ran towards the door, pushing past the other occupants of the bus. 'Abby!?' Anne cried as the girl flashed past her and outside, only wearing socks.

'Professor!' Abby called, sprinting towards Tom and Jimmy, who had moved away from the bus. Ben followed her after Anne cast a scathing glare in his direction. 'Professor, Jimmy, they're gone.'

'Dallon and Harlem?' Jimmy asked. 'What do you mean? How do you know?'

'Those people they've been hanging out with, the Berserkers,' Abby replied. 'Ben told me that they're basically obsessed with killing skitters.'

'Yeah, that's right,' Tom nodded, looking confused. 'What does that have to do with anything?'

'So are Dallon and Harlem,' Abby replied. 'They always have been. It's a revenge thing. They _hate_ the skitters, for everything. For killing their families, for harnessing them, for destroying the world… everything. They've kept it down until now. They've stayed with us, and were happy to just fight how the rebel skitters wanted.'

'But they didn't try to go with Samson last night, even after everyone went to sleep,' Jimmy protested.

'Maybe they didn't want to upset the little ones,' Abby shrugged. 'Maybe they thought they could just slip away during the fuss of leaving.'

'But why leave?' Tom asked.

'Samson wanted our help to attack the Espheni,' Abby sighed. 'We refused, but Dallon and Harlem… I don't know. They didn't say anything or protest last night. It definitely wouldn't be a surprise.'

'You're probably right,' Jimmy sighed.

'So what do we do?' Tom asked. 'Let them go?'

Jimmy nodded. 'Nothing we can do, I guess. They're probably too far away by now.'

'Then board up,' Tom said. 'We need to get going.'


	18. Chapter 18

Abby groaned as her head smacked the wall of the bus for what felt like the umpteenth time that morning. She was seated on her cot with Colm. Above them, on the "bunked" cot supported by a pair of metal beams, were Summer and Matt, playing a game of cards. Across the bus were Ben and Lexie, while Mariah and Amanda were on the bunked cot above them. Tom was driving the bus, Lourdes and Anne were seated on the back couch, talking, and Jonathan and Korinne were seated on the forward cot. Hal and Maggie were scouting on their bikes, checking for skitters, mechs, Espheni, and Volm around the town the 2nd Mass planned to stop in for fuel.

'Ugh,' Abby groaned, shifting on the cot. Her back was aching from the position she was forced to sit in; the "bunked" cots were only about two and a half feet apart, not leaving much room for the occupants of the lower bed to sit up under the upper one (although the occupants of the top bed had even less room under the roof).

'Back?' Ben asked. He was lying on his back, Lexie leaning on his legs with her nose stuck in a book.

'Yeah,' Abby sighed. 'Oh well,' she shrugged. She squirmed around to lay on her stomach, with her legs up the partition at the head of the bed, since Colm was sitting at the other end and peering out the window. 'What do you see, Colm?' she asked, poking him in the side.

'Trees,' Colm grumbled. 'How long have we been driving?'

'Almost two hours, I guess,' Abby replied.

'Are we almost there?' Colm asked.

Upon his comment, Abby and Ben burst out laughing. 'Almost where, buddy?' Abby asked.

'Where we're going,' Colm replied. 'The city where everyone is.'

'Charleston?' Ben said. 'No, we've still got a really long time before we get to Charleston.'

'We are almost at the town we found Jonathan and Korinne in,' Abby said. 'You can go outside for a little bit there, if it's safe.'

'I'm bored,' Colm grumbled, crossing his arms and hunching over.

'Nothing we can do about that, buddy,' Abby laughed. 'We have a lot of driving to do yet.'

'But I'm bored,' Colm whined, flopping over so that he hung halfway off of the cot, his hands reaching for the floor. 'I liked it better when we ran with Samson and the skitters. We were outside then.'

'I know, but we're safer here,' Abby replied. 'We'll figure out something to do, okay?'

'I don't like "I Spy",' Colm said grumpily. 'That's what we always used to play in the car. I don't want to play it.'

'Okay, no "I Spy",' Abby agreed. 'We'll think of something else.'

'Can we go outside?' Colm demanded eagerly as the med-bus trundled into the gas station parking lot. The 2nd Mass had gotten lucky; the skitters and mechs hadn't destroyed the gas station when they had spotted Abby and Ben, and the scouts had found no sign of them or Volm in the area, so it had been deemed safe for the group to stop there to fuel up, scavenge for food, and eat lunch.

'Yep,' Abby said. 'But you have to stay with Anne in the parking lot.'

'Are you going to be here?' Colm asked.

'Yeah, but I have to stay in the bus,' Abby replied.

'Why?' Colm asked, cocking his head inquisitively.

'Because I don't have any shoes,' Abby replied.

'Why?' Colm asked.

'Because I lost them,' Abby laughed. 'That means I can't leave the bus until someone finds me new ones.'

'Oh,' Colm said. 'Why?'

'Seriously?' Abby mock-glared at him. 'Because it's cold and wet, and Anne is worried about me getting sick if my feet are wet.'

'But you went outside earlier in the snow,' Colm protested, clearly confused.

'Yeah, but that was an emergency,' Abby explained. 'Don't worry, Ben is going to take Summer and Matt to look for food, and they're going to see if they can find me some shoes, too.'

'How come Summer and Matt don't have to stay with Anne?' Colm asked.

'Because I said so,' Abby sighed. 'I told Summer that she could go with Ben, and I told you that you had to say with Anne. Okay?'

'Fine,' Colm sighed. He scurried to the front of the bus and out the door after Anne, Korinne, and Jonathan.

'I wish you could come with,' Summer said, looking up at Abby.

'It's okay,' Abby laughed. 'Remember what size I told you to look for?'

'Yeah,' Summer nodded. 'See ya!'

'Bye!' Abby grinned. 'Have fun!' she called as Ben led Matt and Summer off of the bus.

'Don't worry, we will!' Ben called teasingly over his shoulder.

Abby sighed and slipped off of her cot, wincing when she put weight on her injured ankle. She hadn't favored the joint the last night or earlier that day during her sprint, and was now starting to feel the repercussions of her haste. She limped to the front of the bus, waited until everyone had disembarked, and sat on the step that led outside. She was short enough that her legs could dangle off of the step and not reach the ground.

'Abby!' Mariah squealed, running towards her. 'Hi!' she giggled, running into Abby's legs and grabbing her hands.

'Hey, Mo,' Abby laughed.

Still giggling, Mariah let go of Abby and ran back towards the other end of the parking lot where Amanda, Colm, and Lexie were chasing each other around and laughing. 'Hey, Abs,' Jimmy said, arriving next to the bus.

'Heya,' Abby smiled up at him. 'What's up?'

'Not much,' Jimmy sighed.

'Where are you riding?' Abby asked.

'In the pick-up again,' Jimmy replied. 'With Colonel Weaver and Jeanne.'

'Nice,' Abby nodded. 'Is it weird?'

'A little,' Jimmy admitted. 'But Jeanne's really nice, and it's great to talk to the Colonel again. He was like a father to me when I was with the 2nd Mass.'

'That's great,' Abby smiled.

'How is it in the bus?' Jimmy asked. 'It seems crowded.'

'It's not bad,' Abby shrugged. 'Colm's been complaining; he says he wishes we were travelling with Samson again, because then he could run outside. He doesn't like being cooped up. I mean, none of us do.'

'Yeah,' Jimmy agreed. 'It's weird. I mean, it's been like… a year since I was even in a car! Longer for you guys, too, I guess.'

'Yeah,' Abby nodded. 'Probably. I mean, I don't know everyone's stories from before they joined the rebels, but I doubt there was much driving going on.'

'Probably not,' Jimmy laughed. 'Hey, where's Summer? I see the other girls and Lexie and Colm, but not her. Or Matt, for that matter.'

'I told Summer she could go look for supplies with Ben and Matt,' Abby replied. 'I figured she was old enough. Mariah and Amanda didn't want to go, but Colm did. I told him no. I think Summer wanted to go because of Matt; they're getting pretty close.'

'Yeah, they are,' Jimmy agreed. 'They'll be fine. Ben will keep them safe.'

'I know,' Abby nodded. 'That's why I said she could go.'

'Look,' Summer pointed excitedly. She, Matt, and Ben had chosen a mostly-intact house to check out. She and Benwere currently in the kitchen, poking around the cupboards.

'What?' Ben asked, not turning around. He was checking the expiration date on cans of beans, placing those that were still good (or had expired less than three months ago) in a heavy duty knapsack on the counter beside him.

'I found something,' Summer said. She pushed aside a toppled table and pulled out an old-looking wooden rifle. 'A gun!' she exclaimed.

Ben whipped around and stared at her. 'Can I see?' he asked, striding over and crouching down next to where Summer was kneeling.

'Yeah,' she nodded, handing him the gun.

'This is old,' he said, checking out the weapon. 'But… it looks like it's in pretty good shape. Good find. Do you wanna see if you can find some bullets for it?'

'Okay,' Summer agreed. Ben handed the gun back to her and returned to the cabinet. He placed a few more cans in his knapsack before cinching the top and heaving it over his shoulder. 'Found some,' Summer said, pulling a cardboard box out of a drawer in the table. 'It spilled.'

'We have time; can you pick them up?' Ben asked.

'Sure,' Summer grinned. She rooted around in the drawer as Ben glanced over his shoulder and out of the kitchen.

'I'm going to check on Matt,' he said. 'Stay here. If you hear anything, freeze. _Do not _shoot this gun.'

'Okay,' Summer nodded, continuing to poke around in the drawer and on the floor around the table, putting the bullets she found back in the box.

Ben nodded and left the kitchen, crunching through dead leaves, broken glass, and other debris on the floor. Matt was gone from the first story, so Ben went upstairs. He found his brother pulling medicine out of the bathroom cabinet and dropping it into his knapsack. 'Hey,' Ben said.

'Hey,' Matt replied. 'The medicine cabinet was pretty well stocked. I figured Anne could use some of this stuff.'

'Yeah, that's great,' Ben nodded. He noticed a pair of boots on the floor next to Matt. 'You found shoes for Abby?'

'Yeah,' Matt nodded. 'The numbers for girls' sizes are two bigger than boys', right?'

'I think so,' Ben laughed.

'I think that's what she said earlier,' Matt said. He dropped the last bottle of pills into his bag and turned to Ben. 'These are guys' shoes, but I figure they'll work.'

'I'm sure Abby will be grateful for them,' Ben grinned. 'Come on, let's head back. Summer found a gun and some bullets in the kitchen.'

'Really?' Matt gaped. 'That's great.'

'Yeah,' Ben agreed. 'The bullets spilled; I left her there picking them up, but I want to get moving. We don't want to stay here too long.'

'It looks like you found plenty of food,' Matt grinned at Ben's heavy, full knapsack. The two reached the bottom of the stairs and crunched their way back to the kitchen.

'Yeah,' Ben nodded. 'It doesn't look like this town was touched much, besides Jonny and Korinne.'

'And us!' Summer chirped as the boys joined her in the kitchen. She presented the gun to Ben. 'I think I got all of the bullets.'

'Great,' Ben smiled down at her. 'Let's get back,' he said, looking at the gun in his hand. 'You got the bullets?'

'Yep,' Summer nodded seriously. She clutched the box in both hands as she followed Ben and Matt back out the front of the house.

Before they exited, Ben peered out the door, glancing both left and right, then crept out, checking the street for any other living beings. 'All clear,' he said over his shoulder, and Matt and Summer followed him out.

'Benji!' a taunting voice called from the end of the street opposite the direction from the gas station.

Slowly, Ben turned around, as did Matt and Summer, to face the owner of the voice. When he saw who it was, he lowered the automatic gun he had raised in his right hand. 'How did you get here!?'

**A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUNNN who could it be!? Tune in next time to find out!**


	19. Chapter 19

'How did you get here!?' Ben called down the street, grinning.

The figure at the other end of the street strolled towards them. 'I walked!' Deni grinned.

'From Charleston?' Ben laughed.

'Yep,' Deni nodded. 'I joined back up with the rebel skitters after you left. I've been up here for a little over a week. I was working with them on this big offensive. I was hoping I'd see you there… to be honest, I wasn't even sure you were alive. Then Samson comes back last night saying a pack of spike-backs refused to come back. The rebels flipped out, but Samson talked to us. All of us. He said that it was up to us whether or not we wanted to go through with it. I think maybe five people left then. I was going to stay until this morning.'

'What happened this morning?' Ben asked.

'Dallon and Harlem showed up,' Deni grinned. 'Said they decided to help after all, but their pack was staying behind with the humans they'd found. I asked who these humans were, and, surprise surprise, they said 2nd Mass. So, here I am!'

'She's here for Jimmy,' Summer rolled her eyes, then grinned as Deni gave her a stink eye.

'Yeah, so what?' Deni shrugged. 'Benji's my friend too. And the rest of your pack. Not to mention most of the 2nd Mass.'

'Wait, you know them?' Ben said, looking from Deni to Summer.

'Sure do,' Deni nodded. 'When I was with the rebels, before I ended up in Charleston, I met them. Jimmy and I connected. I mean, I'm friends with the rest of them too.'

'Thanks,' Summer rolled her eyes again.

'Cut the sass, mini-munch,' Deni glared at the girl, then broke into a smile. 'I missed you shrimpies.'

'We missed you too, Dee,' Summer grinned broadly.

'Come on,' Ben said. 'Let's go back to the 2nd Mass. This bag is getting heavy.'

'Looks like,' Deni raised her eyebrows. 'Whaddaya got in there?'

'Mostly canned beans,' Ben sighed. 'But, it's better than nothing.'

'That it is,' Deni laughed. The four made their way back to the gas station. As they neared they heard the squeals of the younger children playing in the parking lot.

Jimmy looked up as Ben, Matt, Summer, and Deni approached the lot and gaped. 'Abby!' he said, poking the older girl.

'What?' she asked, following his gaze. 'Is that Deni!?' she said, standing up on the med-bus step.

'Yeah,' Jimmy grinned. He jogged towards the approaching group, meeting them near the edge of the lot.

'Heya!' Deni grinned. She embraced Jimmy warmly then stepped back and held him at arm's length. 'You need a haircut.'

Jimmy rolled his eyes. 'You always say that.'

'Deni!' Amanda squealed, catching sight of the tall, thin girl, and sprinting towards her, followed by Mariah, Colm, and Lexie.

'Hey look!' Deni grinned, bending down to hug them all. 'It's my shrimpies! And who is this?'

'Oh, yeah,' Ben said. 'Deni, do you remember my sister?'

'Alexis?' Deni said, straightening up. 'Yeah, why?'

'That's her,' Ben replied.

'No kidding,' Deni said, staring at Lexie. 'Hey, kid. Remember me?'

'Yeah,' Lexie grinned. She stepped forward and hugged Deni.

'Lemme guess, Espheni?' Deni looked at Ben, who nodded. 'They're so weird,' she sighed. She picked Lexie up and balanced her on her hip. 'You know, you've grown a lot since I saw you last. Guess you hit your first growth spurt, huh?'

Lexie giggled. Deni grinned and hoisted her up slightly higher. The group set off for the inner part of the station where the last vehicles were being fueled.

'Hey, Matt, you wanna go give Abby her shoes?' Ben suggested as they approached the bus.

'Sure,' he said. He scampered towards the bus, followed by Amanda, Mariah, and Colm in a duckling trail. Deni set Lexie down, and the girl followed the others. Jimmy, Ben, and Summer continued towards where Weaver and Tom stood talking to Pope near the gas pump.

'Colonel Weaver!' Ben called, gaining the attention of the three men.

'Deni?' Tom called, peering around Weaver at the girl. She grinned and waved as she approached. 'What are you doing here?' Tom asked, hugging her.

'I was with the rebels,' Deni replied. 'Looking for you guys,' she hooked an arm around Jimmy's waist, instantly turning him beet red. 'And for them.'

Weaver raised an eyebrow but focused on Ben instead of Jimmy. 'What did you guys find? Besides Deni, that is.'

'Well, this is all canned food,' Ben said, sliding the knapsack off of his shoulder and handing it to Pope, who proceeded to nearly drop it. 'It's heavy,' he added as an afterthought. 'Matt has a bag full of medicine for Anne and boots for Abby, and Summer—'

'I found a gun,' Summer said, holding out the box of bullets for Weaver. Ben grinned and offered up the old gun.

'Summer found a gun and bullets,' Ben finished.

'Good,' Weaver nodded. 'Great job. We're waiting for two more scavenging teams to get back, then we'll head out.'

'Anne has some food for you two and Matt in the bus,' Tom added. 'Deni, are you coming with us?'

'I'd like to,' Deni nodded. 'Is there room?'

'There's always room for one more,' Tom joked. 'I guess you can ride with us, but the bus is pretty crowded.'

'That's the closest thing we have to extra space though,' Weaver said. 'In the bus. Hal and Maggie will be joining you, too; Tector and Anthony are taking a turn on the bikes.'

'Oh, okay,' Tom nodded.

'"Pretty crowded" might be an exaggeration,' Ben grinned.

'Are we all going to fit?' Mariah asked doubtfully, looking at the group assembled outside of the med-bus.

'Sure we are,' Abby nodded. She had donned the clunky, heavy black boots that Matt had brought for her and now stood a few feet away from the bus with her hands on her hips and her eyes on the smaller children as they continued to goof off.

'Are you sure?' Amanda asked, following Mariah's gaze. 'Deni and Maggie and Hal are all going to ride with us now, right?'

'Yeah,' Abby nodded. 'We'll make it work.'

'If you say so,' Amanda shrugged before rejoining Colm and Lexie's game of tag.

Mariah remained by Abby's side, watching the adults standing nearest the bus: Anne, Tom, Jonathan, Korinne, Hal and Maggie. Deni stood off to the side with Jimmy, the two talking softly. Lourdes had reboarded to put away the medicine Matt had brought back, and Summer, Matt, and Ben had disappeared. 'Is Jimmy riding with us this time?' Mariah asked, looking up at Abby.

'I don't think so,' Abby shook her head, watching Jimmy and Deni. 'I'm pretty sure he's going to stay with Colonel Weaver and Jeanne.'

'I want to ride with Jimmy,' Mariah complained.

'I don't think so,' Abby replied. 'The pick-up only has room for three people, and there are already three people in it.'

'But I'm little,' Mariah protested. 'I can fit.'

Abby laughed. 'But that would be uncomfortable for everyone else.'

'But I want to go with Jimmy,' Mariah whined.

'Mo, stop whining,' Abby snapped. 'Be happy that we can ride with the 2nd Mass at all; that we're not with the rebels anymore.'

'But, Abby,' Mariah grumbled.

'Mariah!' Abby said, exasperated. She turned to Mariah and crouched down in front of the other girl, resting her hands on Mariah's shoulders and looking into her eyes. 'Listen to me. I need you to stop whining right now. You need to be grateful that these people have made room for us and given us a home. If that means you have to ride in the bus, then you ride in the bus _without complaining_.'

Mariah pouted, crossing her arms and turning away from Abby, knocking the older girl's hands off of her shoulders. Abby sighed and dropped her head into her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. After several seconds, she raised her head and stood. She started to turn towards Jimmy and Deni but jumped to realize that they had approached her.

'Mariah, are you being a problem for Abby?' Jimmy said sternly, crossing his arms and looking at the small girl.

'No,' Mariah huffed.

'Yes,' Abby sighed.

'Why?' Jimmy asked, moving into Mariah's field of vision.

'I want to ride with you,' Mariah whined.

'Well, you can't today,' Jimmy said patiently. 'I'm riding in the pick-up and there isn't room for anyone else. Anyways, Colonel Weaver says that we might be driving all night. You'll be more comfortable in the bus, especially if you have to sleep there.'

'I don't care,' Mariah stomped her foot.

'Mariah,' Jimmy said sternly. 'If you don't listen, you'll be in trouble.'

'I don't care,' Mariah repeated stubbornly.

'Really?' Jimmy raised his eyebrows. 'Cos if you really don't, I'll let Abby be the one who decides what trouble you're in.'

'No,' Mariah complained. 'I'll behave.'

'Thank you,' Jimmy smiled.

'Crisis averted,' Deni whispered, grinning at Abby.

Abby broke into a grin and turned to the younger girl. 'Hey Dens,' she said, enveloping Deni in a bear hug. 'It's great to see you.'

'Great to see you too, Abs,' Deni said, returning the embrace. 'How are you guys doing?'

'Well, I think,' Abby laughed.

'What happened to your arms?' Deni said, looking pointedly first at Abby's bandaged wrist then her elbow.

'I crashed on a dirtbike,' Abby shrugged. 'It could have been worse.'

'You crashed a dirtbike?' Deni repeated.

'Well, Ben did,' Abby shrugged. 'But we were getting shot at by the… what are they called, Volm?'

'The Volm were shooting at you?' Deni gaped. 'I guess I missed more than I thought!'

Abby laughed. 'At least you know who the Volm are. I'd never heard of them before they shot at us.'

'Yeah, I was in Charleston after I left you guys in Delaware,' Deni shrugged.

'Is that how you know everyone?' Abby asked.

'Yeah,' Deni nodded. 'Benji and I were some of the few spiked kids who worked between the humans and rebel skitters.'

'Cool,' Abby nodded. 'What made you come here?'

'Dallon and Harlem,' Deni grinned. 'They showed up this morning, said they left the rest of you with some other human fighters.'

'So they're safe?' Abby smiled, relieved. 'I was worried. I mean, we assumed they followed Samson, but we weren't sure.'

'Yeah, now you know,' Deni laughed. 'They're fine.'

'Good,' Abby nodded. 'Did anyone else leave with you?'

'I don't know,' Deni shrugged. 'A few left last night when Samson got back; Bailey and Torrence's pack, I think. I didn't see Hatter this morning, so I'm guessing he skipped out; he never really wanted to fight skitters in the first place. I was surprised he didn't leave straight off.'

'So they're down, what, seven, plus the six of us and Ben,' Abby said absentmindedly. 'That's fourteen. Not a ton. It probably won't make much of a difference, considering four of us are pretty young and I'm not much of a fighter anyways.'

'Fourteen spike-backs could make a huge difference,' Deni contradicted. 'Even if five of them aren't much. Say that makes eleven or twelve. That's still a lot.'

'I guess,' Abby agreed. 'Did the group look small?'

'It looked about the same as when I was there, maybe a little smaller,' Deni replied. 'I guess they lose some, they find and free some more.'

'Pretty much,' Abby nodded. 'I think the other two packs we were working with when we found the 2nd Mass got lost in that fight. At least partly.'

'Which packs?' Deni asked.

'Petra, Yoni, Sammie, and Chris and Will, Susie, and Pearl,' Abby listed.

'I saw Yoni, Sammie, and Chris, but no Petra,' Deni replied. 'I don't know the other three.'

'I saw Susie and Pearl go down, and it wasn't looking good for Will,' Abby said. 'I lost sight of him right after I saw them die, and had Colm and Harlem to look after, so I didn't go back. I should have.'

'Nothing you could have done,' Deni said grimly.

'Colonel!' a voice called, and Anthony roared into the gas station parking lot on a motorbike. 'Colonel, we got incoming!' he shouted, screeching to a halt near where Weaver had joined the group by the bus. Seconds later, Tector roared up beside him, glancing nervously over his shoulder.

'What is it?' Weaver demanded.

'Mechs,' Tector replied. 'Don't know how many. We caught sight of em and hightailed it back here.'

'How far?' Tom asked.

'Under five miles,' Anthony replied.

'Everybody, we're moving out in five minutes!' Weaver bellowed, not waiting to hear more. 'Load up!'

Abby grabbed Lexie and Colm's hands as they continued their game of tag and forcibly towed them towards the med-bus. Deni grabbed onto Mariah and Amanda's hands and pulled them after Abby, nodding to Jimmy as he hurried towards Weaver's pick-up.

Abby arrived at the bus and passed Lexie and Colm off to a worried-looking Anne. Abby waited as they, Hal and Maggie, Deni, Mariah, Amanda, and Jon and Korinne piled onto the bus, leaving her and Tom standing outside.

'Where's—' Abby started.

'Here,' Ben interrupted her, arriving carrying Summer under one arm with his free hand

planted between Matt's shoulder blades and propelling the smaller boy ahead of him. Matt hurried up the bus steps, followed by Summer once Ben set her down. Tom boarded next, then Ben pushed Abby in front of him and up the stairs, following closely and slamming the makeshift door behind him. The two sat down back on their cots, which had now become more crowded since no-one had climbed into the top bunks.

'Here we go,' Tom called, starting the bus. He waited until one of the scout motorcycles, Weaver's truck, and two other vehicles pulled out before following them, the remaining vehicles falling in behind.

That night, Tom slowly regained consciousness to a soft conversation between Ben and Abby. Tom was lying on the floor between their cots. In the front seat of the bus was Hal, driving slowly along the dark road. Anne slept in the front cot with Lexie, Jon on the floor next to her, against the water cooler. On the bunk above Abby were Deni and Summer, while Mariah and Amanda were curled up together at the end of Abby's cot. Abby was sitting up as much as possible, propped up with her knapsack, with Colm snuggled in her arms. Over Ben's cot was Korinne, and Ben and Matt were curled up together, although Ben was propped up slightly. On the back couch, Maggie and Lourdes were huddled together under a few blankets.

'Okay, what do you miss most?' Tom heard Ben whisper.

'Oh, that's hard,' Abby replied. 'Sleeping in a bed, books, my cat, snuggling in bed with my cat and reading a book… my mom's cooking, and my grandma's PA Dutch food… swimming… Star Wars…'

'Star Wars?' Ben laughed. 'Seriously?'

'What about you?' Abby asked.

'Books,' Ben agreed. 'Definitely. School… The smell of my dad cooking breakfast on Saturdays… Saturday morning breakfasts… Matt and Hal playing catch in the backyard and arguing about who had a better underhand… Watching Hal try to teach Matt cradling tricks…'

'Cradling?' Abby asked. 'Like, lacrosse?'

'Yeah,' Ben replied. 'Hal played lacrosse.'

'That's something else I miss,' Abby murmured. 'Lacrosse. And soccer.'

'You played lacrosse?' Ben asked.

'Yeah, girls',' Abby joked. 'Totally different game. Equally intense.'

'I miss Hal's lacrosse games too, as much as I used to complain about going to them,' Ben added.

'Yeah,' Abby agreed. 'I miss watching my brother's soccer and basketball games. And, of course, my own soccer and lax games.'

'I miss lacrosse,' Hal agreed from the front of the bus. 'And Red Sox games.'

'Baseball is boring,' Abby argued. 'My best friend's boyfriend played. She used to drag me to his games.'

'High school, yeah,' Hal teased. 'Pro? No. No comparison.'

'I've seen and been to plenty of pro games,' Abby said. 'Still boring.'

'I miss music,' Matt mumbled sleepily.

'Me too,' Summer piped up.

'Bountiful chocolate,' Deni said wistfully, earning quickly-stifled chuckles from the other kids.

'Bacon,' said Abby. 'Boy do I miss bacon. I don't like meat much, but bacon…'

'You said "bacon" a lot in that sentence,' Ben laughed.

'I miss quiet bedtimes,' Maggie called softly from the back.

'I miss waking up to my boys arguing instead of warnings about incoming skitters or mechs,' Tom added, making Ben and Abby jump as they realized he was awake.

'I miss sleeping in,' Deni joked. 'Being an only child had some perks: namely, no siblings to wake me up.'

'I miss sleeping,' Hal groaned. 'Someone else want to drive? Who was older than sixteen when the invasion started, meaning they actually know how to drive?'

'I'll drive,' Tom laughed, clambering to his feet. 'You can sleep here.'

**A/N: For the record, I really really love this chapter :3 **


	20. Chapter 20

-two weeks later-

'Morning,' Ben said offhandedly as Abby hopped out of the med-bus bearing several full mags.

'Morning, goldilocks,' Abby grinned, causing Ben to stop what he was doing and glare at her.

'Would you stop calling me that?' Ben grumbled, resuming cleaning his gun. 'I'm not even blond.'

'You sort of are,' Abby shrugged.

'No, I'm really not,' Ben sighed.

'Well, you don't want to be called Benji,' Abby shrugged. 'I'm just getting creative.'

'No, you're not,' Ben retorted.

'Well, someone's in a negative mood today,' Abby rolled her eyes.

'I can think of so many comments to respond to that,' Ben sighed.

'Then say one,' Abby challenged.

'My mom always taught me that if I had nothing nice to say to say nothing at all,' Ben replied.

Abby laughed. 'You win this round. That makes… Ben: four, Abby: seven.'

'You're padding your stats,' Ben protested. 'You only had five yesterday.'

'No, I had six when we started, and I won,' Abby corrected him. 'That makes seven.'

'Five when we started,' Ben argued. 'There was definitely a five.'

'Pretty sure I started with six,' Abby shook her head. 'But, since you're losing, I'll say that I have six now.'

'Yeah, cos you do,' Ben protested.

'Do you two _ever_ stop bickering?' Hal groaned.

'We're not bickering,' Ben retorted.

'We're bantering,' Abby replied.

'The ability to banter indicates a healthy mind,' Ben added, putting his gun back together.

'Where did you even hear that?' Hal laughed.

'It's a commonly known fact,' Abby shrugged, handing Ben a fresh mag for his gun.

'I get the strangest feeling like you two are ganging up to pull one over on me,' Hal mock-glared at the duo.

'Who, us?' Abby said innocently, clicking a new mag into place in her gun.

'We would never,' Ben agreed.

'Or maybe we _are_ ganging up on you,' Abby suggested.

'Just not to pull one over on you,' Ben continued. 'To inform you of facts.'

'I give up,' Hal groaned. 'You two are admittedly one of the best tag-teams I've ever gone up against.'

'Only one of?' Abby grinned innocently.

'Hey, Jimmy and Deni are back,' Ben poked her with his elbow. 'That means we should head out on patrol.'

'See ya, Hal!' Abby grinned, standing up with Ben.

'Bye, Ben, Red,' Hal called after them.

'Yeah, cos that's so original!' Abby called back as she and Ben set off for the woods.

They passed Jimmy and Deni on the way out, Abby giving high-fives to her pack-brother and his partner and Ben dodging a light-hearted punch from Jimmy. Tom watched them leave, smiling at how easily Abby, and the rest of her pack, had fit into the 2nd Mass. At one of their stops, Anne, Korinne, and Lourdes had found fresh clothes to replace the tattered ones worn and carried by the spike-backs. Currently, Abby was wearing her favorite of the clothes: dark grey-blue skinny jeans tucked into the heavy boots Matt had found her and layered shirts: a striped navy and grey fitted long-sleeved t-shirt; a zip-up red, blue, and green light hoodie; and a heavy grey sweatshirt with a wool-lined hood. Beside her, Ben wore his usual dark jeans, fitted black shirt, black coat, and beat-up grey sneakers. Abby's vibrant red hair was pulled into a thick ponytail, long bangs escaping to frame her face, and Ben's was overgrown enough to hang in his eyes. Abby was short enough to barely reach Ben's shoulder, but both had the same catlike grace and coiled power behind every motion. The duo made an odd pair, almost as odd as Maggie and Hal, but seemed perfectly suited to each other.

Jimmy and Deni on the other hand seemed completely perfect and complimentary in every way. Unlike Abby and Ben, Deni was the taller of this couple, although the height difference was less, with Jimmy coming up to her ear. They had the same feline grace and power of Abby and Ben, although they were younger and had noticeably less presence. Deni was small and wiry, with a head of thick, black, corkscrew curls; she wore a dirt-stained bright yellow shirt, which contrasted neatly with her dark skin, and black jeans. Jimmy wore a dark red hoodie and light blue jeans with holes in both knees. Somehow, they gave off an air of lower ability than Ben and Abby, although Tom knew that all four were equally capable.

Tom watched Abby and Ben disappear into the forest as Jimmy and Deni approached, grinning. 'Nothing out there that we could find, Professor,' Jimmy said.

'Then what are the smiles for?' Hal teased.

'Something Abby said on the way out,' Deni replied.

'Oh?' Hal pressed.

'Not something you'd get,' Deni shrugged.

'It's from our time with the skitters,' Jimmy explained. 'Actually, it's kind of a skitter joke…'

'Not something you'd guess unless you were inside a skitter's head,' Deni added.

'Skitter jokes?' Hal said incredulously. 'Cos that's not at all disturbing.'

'They have some pretty sick humor,' Jimmy admitted.

'Some of them, anyways,' Deni agreed. 'But humans are the same way, aren't they?'

'Have to give you that one,' Tom agreed with a smile.

'You guys are exactly like Abby and Ben,' Hal said suddenly.

'What do you mean?' Jimmy asked, swapping a glance with Deni.

'The way you talk—the way you think,' Hal explained. 'It's like you think together. You're always on the same track. You finish each other's thoughts, if not sentences. It's like you work together to say things.'

'It's part of the connection,' Deni shrugged.

'How so?' Tom asked, intrigued.

'Well, Deni and I connected the same way Ben and Abby did when they met,' Jimmy explained. 'When you connect with someone, it's always different, just like everyone interacts with different people differently. It's kind of like the spikes are telling us who is what to us. Like, they told me that Abby, Dallon, Harlem, Amanda, Mariah, Colm, and Summer were my family.'

'Not literally,' Deni interjected. 'It's like… our brain chemicals react differently to each person we meet. The spikes do the same, they just make it clearer to us than our brains do sometimes.'

'Cos that clears everything up,' Hal rolled his eyes.

'I think I get it,' Tom said. 'It's like when we fall in love. Our brains have a chemical reaction when we meet the person we love. The spikes simulate that.'

'Something like that,' Deni nodded.

'Or so we think, anyways,' Jimmy added quickly. 'I mean, we don't know for sure. This is all conjecture.'

'Well, considering the harnesses secrete an opiate into the wearer, I think that's a perfectly plausible theory,' Tom smiled.

Jimmy and Deni grinned back, but Jimmy suddenly froze, his hand flying up to the back of his neck. 'Augh,' he gasped, gritting his teeth.

'What's wrong?' Tom demanded, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders and looking into his eyes. 'Jimmy? Can you hear me?'

Wordlessly, Jimmy nodded, grimacing and gripping the back of his neck. 'It's not skitters,' Deni said. 'I don't feel anything.'

'It's my pack,' Jimmy mumbled, his knees buckling. Deni and Tom caught him quickly, lowering him to the ground gently. 'Something's wrong,' Jimmy gasped.

They heard a wail of sorrow start up from somewhere else in the camp, quickly joined by two others.

'Dad!' Matt cried, racing up to his father. 'Something's wrong with Summer!'

'Dad, look!' Hal pointed towards the edge of the forest. They could see Ben jogging back to camp, Abby cradled in his arms.

'What's going on?' Matt said, sounding terrified.

'Something's going on with Dallon or Harlem,' Deni replied. 'That must be it. That's why Ben and I aren't feeling anything. That's Colm, Mariah, and Amanda you hear crying, and Matt said Summer…'

'What can we do?' Tom demanded.

'Nothing,' Deni shook her head. 'We can get them in the bus, lay them down until they recover, keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get dehydrated or anything.'

'Let's do that,' Tom nodded. 'Hal, help Deni with Jimmy and let Anne and Lourdes know what's going on. I'll go with Matt for Summer and see if I can find the other three.'

Hal nodded and scooped up Jimmy. 'I'll go with Tom,' Deni said, jogging after Tom and Matt. Hal and Ben carried Jimmy and Abby onto the bus.

'Anne!' Hal called into the back of the bus. 'We got trouble.'

'What happened?' Anne demanded, rushing forward.

'Not sure,' Ben replied. 'Something with Dallon and Harlem. It's effecting them because of their connection. All we can do is make them comfortable until they wake up.'

'It's all six of them,' Hal added, placing Jimmy on Ben's cot.

'Where are the others?' Anne asked, checking on Jimmy as Hal stepped aside to let Ben place Abby on her cot.

'Dad and Deni went to find them,' Hal replied.

'Here!' Tom grunted from the doorway. Hal hurried to him, leaving Ben and Anne with Jimmy and Abby. 'Take her,' Tom said, holding out his arms. Hal lifted Amanda out of them, allowing Tom to slide Summer off of his shoulder. They carried the girls into the bus.

'Bunk them,' Anne instructed, stepping aside and pulling Ben with her. 'We'll put Colm and Mariah in the front cot; they're small enough.'

'Gotcha,' Deni called from the bus. She had Colm and Mariah slung over her shoulders and laid them down on the bed.

'What do you think caused this?' Anne asked, pulling off Jimmy's shoes and setting them on the floor beside his bed.

'No idea,' Deni shrugged. 'It's definitely something to do with Dallon and Harlem, since it's not affecting me or Ben, but we have no way of knowing what.'

'And it's probably nothing good,' Ben added, helping Anne tuck blankets around the de-shoed kids.

'Most likely one or both of the boys got hurt,' Deni said. 'It sent these guys into shock, basically.'

'How long will they be out?' Anne asked. 'Any guesses?'

'There's no way to know,' Ben shook his head. 'It could be minutes, hours, days, or even weeks.'


	21. Chapter 21

-five days later-

'Abby?' Abby heard Anne's voice calling her from what seemed like a great distance. 'Abby, honey, can you hear me?'

'I think she's waking up,' came Lourdes's voice. 'Her eyes are moving.'

With great effort, Abby forced her eyes open, squinting against what seemed like an incredibly bright light, and found herself staring up into Anne and Lourdes's concerned faces. 'Where am I?' she croaked.

'Waverly, Virginia,' Anne replied as Lourdes disappeared briefly, only to return with a cup of water and straw. 'In a hospital. The 2nd Mass spent time here before, and we stopped by on our way to Charleston.'

'So we're close?' Abby said, struggling to sit up.

'Yes,' Anne nodded, assisting her to a sitting position.

'That's good,' Abby smiled weakly. She raised a hand to the back of her neck and ran her fingers over the spikes there. 'What happened?'

Anne and Lourdes traded glances. 'You don't know?' Anne asked cautiously.

'All I remember is heading out for patrol with Ben,' Abby replied. 'How long ago was that?'

'Five days,' Anne replied. 'How do you feel?'

'Okay,' Abby shrugged. 'Really hungry, but I think I'll be fine. It was my spikes, right?'

'Yes,' Anne nodded.

'Something was wrong…' Abby murmured to herself.

'Abby, I have to go check on my other patients,' Anne said. 'I'll send Jimmy in to talk to you.'

Abby nodded, watching Anne and Lourdes leave. Seconds after they were gone, Jimmy entered, true to Anne's word. 'Morning, sleepyhead,' he grinned at her.

'Morning,' she smiled. 'Did something happen to Dallon and Harlem?'

'We think so,' Jimmy nodded seriously, pulling up a chair next to her bed and sitting down.

'Did it get all of you, too?' Abby asked.

'Yeah,' Jimmy replied. 'We were out for about two days.'

'Okay,' Abby nodded. 'I'm guessing no-one knows what happened to Dallon and Harlem?'

'No,' Jimmy sighed. 'But definitely nothing good.'

Abby sighed, then flung off her blanket. 'Let's go. I'm tired of lying around. I want to explore this place. Have you seen my shoes?'

'Over there,' Jimmy pointed, laughing. 'Hold on, I'll get them.' he stood and fetched the shoes from across the room, as well as Abby's backpack. 'Here. I'll wait outside while you change, then I can show you around.'

'Awesome,' Abby nodded, opening the backpack and digging around inside for clothes. Jimmy waited outside until she joined him, dressed in a sky-blue long-sleeved t-shirt, light blue jeans, her heavy boots, and a thick grey hoodie.

'Ready?' Jimmy grinned at her.

'What's that supposed to mean?' Abby laughed, following him outside. They stepped out into the hospital's main corridor and Abby raised her eyebrows. 'Oh.' The corridor, running down what had probably once been the center of the hospital, showed a large crater where the other half of the building had once been. 'What happened?'

'What do you think?' Jimmy shrugged. 'Espheni. Well, actually I think _that'_—he pointed towards a partially intact, burned section of building—'was the professor.'

'Oh,' Abby nodded. 'Okay.'

'Come on,' Jimmy laughed, leading her to the front of the building. 'Everyone's out here. We're getting ready to head to Charleston.'

'Cool,' Abby said, adjusting her backpack on her left shoulder.

'Hey there!' a grinning Hal called, waving at the duo as they exited. They walked down the steps outside and joined Hal next to a beat-up green station wagon. 'Welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty.'

Abby rolled her eyes. 'Your nicknames are always so original, it floors me. How do you come up with them?'

'Okay, princess,' Hal rolled his eyes. 'Whatever you say. We're leaving in half an hour. Where are you two riding?'

'Don't know yet,' Jimmy replied. 'Do we have assigned seats?'

'Check with Weaver,' Hal suggested. 'There's a few people he wanted in certain places, but it's pretty much just wherever you can find a seat. Just check to make sure.'

'Okay,' Jimmy nodded. 'Do you know where he is?'

'That way,' Hal pointed to his left. 'I think. That's where I last saw him, anyways.'

'Thanks,' Abby called over her shoulder as she and Jimmy headed in the direction Hal had indicated.

'You're welcome, princess!' Hall called back, earning a glare from Abby.

Jimmy and Abby found Weaver standing next to a faded orange pick-up and talking to Tom. 'Abby, good to see you up and about,' Tom smiled warmly at the girl.

'Thanks, professor,' Abby smiled back.

'Colonel, Hal said we should check with you to see if there was anywhere specific we were supposed to ride,' Jimmy said, turning to Weaver.

'Nowhere in particular,' Weaver shook his head. 'There's space in here, if you need it.'

'There's also a few seats in the med-bus, and I think one with Hal,' Tom added. 'Ben is riding with Hal, and Deni's in the bus,' he added, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

At the comment, Jimmy's face visibly reddened, earning a laugh from Abby. 'We'll keep that in mind, thanks,' she joked. 'I'm going to go ask Anne if she wants me to keep an eye on the kids. Jimmy?'

'Can I just ride with you, Colonel?' Jimmy mumbled, his face reddening further.

'Sure,' Weaver replied, hiding a smile.

'See you later,' Abby grinned, turning and making her way back towards the med-bus.

'Abby!' Colm squealed as she approached. He broke away from Korinne, who appeared to be babysitting him, Alexis, Mariah, and Amanda, and streaked towards Abby, throwing himself into her legs. 'Hi,' he giggled, grinning up at her.

'Hey, buddy,' Abby grinned. 'How are you?'

'I'm good!' Colm laughed. He grabbed Abby's hand and started towing her towards the bus. 'Are you riding with us?'

'I don't know yet,' Abby replied. 'I need to talk to Anne. Is she here?'

'Abby!' she turned to see Ben striding towards the bus. 'Hal wants to know if you're riding with us.'

'Um, I don't know,' Abby replied. 'I wanted to check with Anne and see if she wanted me on the bus to watch the kids.'

'There's not a lot of room on the bus,' Korinne said. 'I can watch the kids. Why don't you just go with Hal and Ben, okay?'

'Sure,' Abby shrugged. 'Okay, Colm?'

'Okay,' Colm sighed exaggeratedly. 'I'll see you later.'

'You bet,' Abby grinned. She ruffled his hair before releasing his hand and following Ben back towards the green station wagon Hal stood next to.

'So, you're stuck with us, princess?' Hal called teasingly as Abby and Ben approached.

'Looks like, Gaston,' Abby retorted.

'Did you just call me the villain from _Beauty and the Beast_?' Hal asked.

'Yep,' Abby nodded, placing her bag in the open trunk.

'Why?' Hal asked.

'Because you remind me of him,' Abby shrugged.

'And why is that?' Hal rolled his eyes.

'Because if Gaston were a high school student in the pre-invasion world, he would've been a dumb jock,' Ben suggested.

Hal swiped at his younger brother, but Ben easily dodged the blow. 'Hey, break it up,' Maggie called. She approached from the opposite side of the station wagon and glared at the boys. 'This better not be one of those stereotypical family road trips with you guys fighting the whole time.'

'We won't,' Hal said innocently as he managed to get Ben in a headlock.

'We'll see,' Maggie said skeptically.

'Load up!' Weaver called, striding along the small caravan of vehicles. 'We're making one long push to Charleston! No more long stops, so get used to sleeping in your cars!' He bellowed the last line as he reached his pickup and swung into the driver's seat. Jeanne sat in the middle, and Jimmy sat on the passenger's side.

At Weaver's shout, Hal had slipped into the passenger seat of the station wagon, while Maggie climbed in the driver's side. In the back, Abby sat behind Maggie and Ben behind Hal. 'Ready?' Maggie grinned in the rearview.

'Sure,' Ben laughed, and Abby shrugged. Maggie rolled her eyes and started the station wagon. She waited until the vehicle directly in front of her—the Berserkers' beat-up old convertible—started to move before shifting the wagon into drive and stepping on the gas. Behind them came the roar of the med-bus starting up and the creak of its brakes being released.

'That doesn't sound good,' Abby observed, peering through the back window at the bus.

'It's an old bus,' Hal shrugged, keeping his eyes forward. 'It'll make it to Charleston, don't worry.'

'I wasn't worried,' Abby replied.

'Okay, one rule,' Maggie said. 'No bickering, no arguing, no anything back and forth. Only civil conversation. If I don't like it, it stops, okay?'

'Yes, mom,' Hal grinned cheekily at her.

'And no sarcasm,' Maggie mock-glared at him for several seconds before returning her eyes to the road.

'Well, I'm going to sleep, since I'll have to drive tonight,' Hal said, sinking down in his seat. 'You guys keep Maggie awake.'

'Okay,' Ben and Abby chimed.

Maggie glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled to find both Abby and Ben curled up and asleep in the backseat. Abby had fallen asleep with her head back against the headrest, her legs pulled up and tucked under her on the seat. Ben was sitting cross-legged and was leaning forward, but had sort of keeled over to the side and was resting against the window.

Maggie returned her attention to the road and gasped sharply, slamming her foot down on the brakes. She heard Abby and Ben fly forward and felt Abby slam into the back of her seat. Beside her, Hal was merely flung into his seatbelt, which locked before he could go far.

'Ow,' Abby groaned.

'Are you guys okay?' Maggie asked, concerned.

'Yeah,' Ben grunted, pulling himself out of the leg space between his and Hal's seat.

'What happened?' Abby asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

'I don't know,' Maggie replied grimly. 'Everyone stopped. I'm guessing either we've found aliens, or something broke down.'

Suddenly, Abby screamed as a dark figure appeared next to her and Maggie's windows and tapped on the glass. She gasped and her hand flew up to rest on her heart. Maggie rolled down the window and Tom peered in.

'Everyone okay?' he grinned at Abby.

'Don't _do_ that!' Abby gasped. 'You scared me half to death!'

'Sorry,' Tom laughed.

'What's going on?' Hal asked, peering around Maggie.

'One of the SUVs,' Tom replied. 'Hit a bump, blew a tire, and wrecked the rim when they came down. You guys have a seat, right?'

'Yeah, if you don't mind squishing,' Ben called up.

'We'll probably have to put someone in here with you,' Tom said. 'Sorry about it, but there's nothing we can do. I'll be back.'

'Okay,' Maggie nodded. She shifted the car into park and rolled up the window. They waited for several minutes, watching people moving around in the headlights of the vehicles ahead of them. After about ten minutes, they saw Tom walking towards them, followed by Dr. Roger Kadar. Maggie rolled the window back down as they approached.

'Dr. Kadar is going to ride with you guys,' Tom informed them as Abby scooted into the middle of the back seat, pulling her discarded jacket with her and slipping her arms into it backwards. Kadar opened the door and clambered into Abby's vacated seat. Tom watched as he got settled before leaving.

'Do you want me to drive now?' Hal asked Maggie.

'Sure,' Maggie nodded. The two got out of the car and walked around the front, sitting on the opposite sides, Hal now behind the wheel. They shut their doors at almost the exact same time that the car in front of them began to move again.

Maggie didn't fall asleep right away, but almost everyone in the back seat did. Abby fell asleep with her feet propped on the center console, slouched down in the seat, and leaning against Ben. Ben wrapped his arms around her shoulders and fell asleep with his cheek resting against the top of her head. Kadar kept himself as far away from Abby as possible—about two inches—but eventually fell asleep pressed against the door. Maggie pulled her legs onto the seat, curling up like Abby had been earlier, and turned towards Hal.

'What?' Hal laughed, glancing briefly at her.

'Nothing,' Maggie smiled, resting her head against the seat.

'That's not a "nothing" look,' Hal teased.

'You're right,' Maggie sighed, glancing out the windshield. It had grown foggy in the few hours since they had stopped, and it was around three or four in the morning; the darkest time of night.

'What is it?' Hal prompted. 'Is something wrong?'

'No,' Maggie said quickly. 'Nothing's wrong.' Unable to help herself, she grinned broadly.

Hal glanced at her again and caught the grin. 'What is it?' he repeated with a laugh.

'I have news,' Maggie smiled even wider.

'What?' Hal demanded. He glanced at her. 'Seriously, what is it? What's going on?'

Maggie laughed.

Hal glanced at her again. 'No way.'

She laughed again.

'You're kidding!' Hal began to grin as well.

'Nope,' she grinned childishly.

'Oh. My. God.' Hal stared out the windshield. 'You're sure?'

'Uh, pretty sure?' Maggie laughed. 'Yes, I'm sure.'

'Oh my God,' Hal repeated. He stared out the windshield for several minutes without speaking, then glanced at Maggie again. 'How do you want to tell everyone?'

'How do _you_ want to tell everyone?' she retorted. 'It's your family.'

'How about we get married?'

**A/N BOMBSHELLLLL! woohoo! Yeah! okay, I'll stop.**


	22. Chapter 22

-the next evening-

'Is that Charleston?' Abby asked, sitting up as straight as she could and staring through the windshield.

Ben peered around the passenger's seat, which contained a sleeping Hal, and grinned. 'Yep,' he replied. 'We're almost there.'

'Whoa,' Abby stared, clearly impressed, at the Liberty Tree, its metal leaves clinking gently in the soft breeze. 'It's beautiful.'

'That's the Liberty Tree,' Ben informed her. 'Jeanne built it. It represents everyone who has died in the war. Every one of those leaves has a name on it.'

'Wow,' Abby said.

'Wait here,' Ben said. He left her, Jimmy, and Deni near the edge of the square and strode up to the tree. He stared at the leaves for a few moments, looking for one in particular, then removed a leaf and rejoined his friends. He looked at the leaf in his hands and handed it to Jimmy with a grin. 'I think this belongs to you,' he smiled.

Jimmy took the leaf and looked down at it. 'Someone put a leaf on it for me?'

'I did,' Ben nodded. 'But, seeing as you're not actually dead, I figured I should take it down.'

Jimmy smiled at his friend. 'Thanks.'

'Mason!' a voice called. Tom turned to find Duane Pickett standing near the portion of the Charleston city center that led to Popetown, Steve and Luke flanking him.

'Pickett!' Tom called back. He glanced at Anne, cautioning her to stay where she was with Lexie and Matt, before making his way to the Picketts. 'You came to Charleston after all,' he observed.

'We did,' Duane nodded. 'Brought Gil here. The doctors patched him up and we left again, but ran into a bunch of those aliens back at the ranch house. Gil held 'em off so we could run and they killed him. Came back here 'cos we got no place else to go.'

'I'm sorry to hear that,' Tom said genuinely. 'I'm glad you and your kids made it, though.'

Bibby appeared from behind Duane and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 'So are we. Did you ever find your family?'

'I did, actually,' Tom nodded. He nodded back towards Anne and Lexie. 'My wife and daughter.'

'Glad to hear it,' Duane smiled haltingly. 'I heard that you bunch went to Boston to kill these bastards.'

'We dealt them a blow,' Tom nodded. 'We destroyed part of their defense grid so that the Volm, our extraterrestrial allies, could land their main force.'

'So the spider-bugs are gone?' Luke demanded, stepping up next to his father.

'No, there's still fighting to do,' Tom replied. 'And now we've got the Volm to deal with. They want to ship us all to Brazil to keep us out of the way.'

'I ain't goin' to Brazil!' Steve fumed, moving to stand next to Bibby. 'Those bastards killed Uncle Gil; I ain't lettin' them live that down!'

Abby and Ben watched the conversation between Tom and the Picketts, while Deni and Jimmy wandered further into the city. 'Who are they?'

'Some people we ran into a few months ago,' Ben replied. 'Matt kind of shot Duane—the man's—brother.'

'Well, that's always awkward,' Abby said.

'Kind of,' Ben agreed.

'Speaking of Matt'—

'I hear it too.'

'Stop it!' Summer cried, stepping between Matt and the large man who was menacing the boy. 'Leave us alone!'

'We ain't gonna let a bunch of razorbacks run around Charleston,' the man sneered, glaring down at her. 'It's not safe or fair for the rest of us.'

'What do you mean?' Matt demanded. 'There used to be a bunch of de-harnessed kids here with the skitter rebels.'

'They cleared out not long after you lot left,' one of the man's equally large companions informed them. 'I guess they figured without Mason here to protect them, they weren't safe.'

'They were right,' another man laughed loudly.

'What did we ever do to you?' Summer demanded.

It was the wrong thing to say. The front-most man grabbed her right forearm and flung her to the side, directly into a crumbling brick wall.

'Stop it!' Matt shouted, running to her aid, only to receive a backhanded blow from the man.

'What did you do to me?' the man fumed. 'The aliens _killed_ my whole family. They took my kids and put those things on their backs. I have _no-one_ because of them!'

'Hey!' Abby yelled as she and Ben arrived. 'Pick on someone your own size!' she shouted, slamming her fist into the man's nose.

He staggered back, clutching his face. He seemed about to continue antagonizing the children, but noticed the spikes on Abby and Ben's backs, which were beginning to glow blue, as were Summer's. Realizing that they were outnumbered, the three turned and ran.

'Basically, we left Boston and got back down here as fast as we could,' Tom said. He was still standing in the square with the Liberty Tree, talking to the Picketts. Anne and Lexie had joined them shortly after Matt had left to show Summer around. 'It took a little while to get out of New England, but once we did, we made pretty good…' he trailed off as he saw Abby and Ben enter the square, Ben carrying a tearful Summer on his hip and Abby leading Matt, whose lip was bleeding, and cradling her right hand.

Anne gasped and rushed over, beelining towards Summer. 'What happened?' she demanded.

'Some bullies who don't like spike-backs,' Abby fumed.

'They though Summer and Matt were good targets for an anti-spike protest,' Ben grumbled, shifting Summer so that Anne could see her wrist.

'This is broken,' Anne reported grimly. She looked at Summer's face and saw a large, purple bruise forming where she had hit the wall. 'And this doesn't look good. I have to check it out, but I'm thinking concussion.

'Are you okay?' Tom asked Matt, placing a hand under his chin and pulling his face up to the light.

'Yeah,' Matt pulled his face away.

'How about you?' Tom turned to Abby. 'What happened to your hand?'

'I may or may not have punched the guy who hurt Summer in the face,' Abby admitted. 'I think I trashed my wrist again.'

'I'll look at it once I get Summer patched up,' Anne said. 'Let's get down to the clinic.'

**A/N *sigh* drama... Oh well. This is the penultimate chapter!**


	23. Chapter 23

'I don't believe it,' Marina said softly, shaking her head. She sat behind the president's desk, Tom and Weaver in the seats in front of her, and Porter standing off to the right. 'We trusted Cochise.'

'I know,' Tom sighed. 'I could hardly believe it when I heard it. But it's true. We have to tell everyone. At least give them the choice to get away before the Volm get here.'

'I agree,' Marina nodded. 'There's a forum tomorrow, conveniently. I'd appreciate it if you made a speech there.'

'Will do,' Tom agreed.

'As for these spiked kids you found, I'd like to meet them,' Marina said.

'Actually, Abby, their leader, said this morning that she wanted to talk to you,' Tom replied. 'She's outside.'

'Well, bring her in,' Marina smiled.

Tom stood and opened the door, allowing a grim-faced Abby and Ben to enter. He noticed a fresh bruise forming on Ben's cheek, but chose not to say anything.

'President Peralta,' Abby said, standing straight in front of Marina's desk. 'I'm Abby Martin. It's nice to meet you.'

'It's nice to meet you too,' Marina smiled warmly. 'Tom said you wanted to talk to me.'

'Yes,' Abby didn't return the smile. 'We've been here for two days, and I've quickly come to realize that it's not safe. My pack and I plan to leave as soon as Dr. Mason clears Summer.'

'Why?' Marina asked, shocked. 'What do you mean, it's not safe?'

'Within minutes of our arrival, my eleven-year-old sister, and Matt Mason, were attacked,' Abby replied. 'Summer ended up with a broken wrist and a severe concussion. Yesterday, Jimmy and Deni were shot at when they came back from patrol. Later, Mariah, Amanda, and Colm were cornered by the other kids at school, who proceeded to throw rocks at them. On our way here, Ben and I were jumped by the same men who attacked Summer and Matt. All of this was completely unprovoked.'

Tom stared at her, openmouthed. He hadn't known about any of the incidents other than the one involving Summer and Matt. He stared at Ben, a sinking feeling growing in his stomach as to why his son had accompanied Abby.

'I can make sure that these people are punished,' Marina said. 'They won't come after you again.'

'You don't understand,' Abby smiled sympathetically. 'Humans just don't trust us. They'll keep coming after us, no matter what you say or do. It just isn't safe. Colm is eight, Mariah is nine, Amanda is ten, and Summer is eleven. They're too young for this.'

'Deni and I are going with them,' Ben said, stepping beside Abby.

'I don't know what to say,' Marina said. 'You're not giving me a choice, I can tell.'

'No, ma'am,' Abby replied. 'I'm sorry to be rude, but I have to look after my pack first and foremost.'

'We'll stay in the woods nearby until the 2nd Mass leaves,' Ben said. 'We won't be far, but we'll stay away from patrols. If you need us, we'll come.'

'Okay,' Marina nodded. 'When Summer is cleared by Anne, I'll make sure you get the supplies you need to get started. I'm sorry.'

'It's not your fault,' Ben shrugged.

'Humans just don't trust what's not like them,' Abby added.

Marina shook her head. 'Charleston is supposed to be a place for people to come to be safe,' she said. 'The fact that you aren't safe here, and don't feel you can be, upsets me, and I'm sorry.'

'Thank you,' Abby smiled.

'Is that all?' Marina asked.

Abby and Ben nodded wordlessly.

'Okay,' Marina nodded. 'You can go. Thank you for coming to me. Tom, I'll see you tonight.'

Tom nodded and followed Ben, Abby, and Weaver out of the president's office. Weaver left, heading for his and Jeanne's room, and Tom, Abby, and Ben continued to the Masons' rooms.

'A word?' Tom said when the trio reached his, Anne, and Lexie's room. Wordlessly, Abby and Ben followed him in. Lexie was playing on the floor with Colm and Mariah, Anne watching from the bed. 'Can you guys go to the other room?' Tom said to the kids. 'Anne and I need to talk to Abby and Ben.'

Noticing the adults' serious expressions, the children complied without complaint. Once they had gone, shutting the door behind them, Tom turned to Abby and Ben. 'Would you like to tell Anne what you just told the president, because I have a feeling she doesn't know any more about these things than I do.'

Abby sighed and turned to Anne. 'The attack on Summer and Matt wasn't the only one. At school yesterday, some kids cornered Colm, Mariah, and Amanda and threw rocks at them. Jimmy and Deni were shot at when they got back from patrol yesterday, and Ben and I got jumped on our way to the president's office.'

Anne gaped at them. 'Why didn't you tell us?' she demanded.

'We didn't tell you about Jimmy and Deni because we were hoping it was an accident,' Ben explained.

'But, when the kids got back from school and told us about what happened, Jimmy and I decided it wasn't safe for them here,' Abby added. 'We decided to leave.'

'And Deni and I are going with them,' Ben pithed in.

'You can't go,' Anne protested.

'We have to,' Abby said. 'I hate to leave, I really do, but it just isn't safe. When the 2nd Mass leaves Charleston, we'll rejoin you.'

'How will you know?' Anne asked tearfully.

'We'll keep an eye on the city,' Ben replied.

'And we'll do our own patrols,' Abby added. 'If we see anything headed for the city, we'll let you know.'

Anne nodded. She wiped her cheeks as her eyes overflowed and wordlessly held out her arms to the teenagers. Abby, also crying, accepted Anne's hug, the two wrapping their arms around each other. Anne held out one arm to Ben, who stepped into the hug and wrapped his arm awkwardly around Anne's back. After several long moments, Anne released them and they stepped back.

'When are you leaving?' Anne asked.

'As soon as you clear Summer,' Abby replied.

'Tomorrow morning, then,' Anne sighed. 'I would have cleared her by then. Assuming nothing happens tonight, that is.'

'People of Charleston!' Tom said into the microphone set up in front of the Liberty Tree. 'Most of you know me, but for those who don't, I'm Tom Mason. I used to be a professor at Boston University, but now I fight the skitters.' He looked around. 'There's a lot of new faces here; that's great. I'm glad Charleston has become such a safe haven. He paused and looked around again. 'Unfortunately, that haven is no longer safe.' He paused as the crowd began to murmur. 'The Volm, our former allies, have decided that all surviving humans are to be sent to Brazil. They have promised that everyone there will be allowed to live out the war in peace.' Tom paused again as the murmurs increased. 'Anyone who wants this, is welcome to stay here. _However_, there are those of us who want to continue to fight! Anyone who wants to fight is warned to leave Charleston before the Volm get here! My own family will be doing this; we plan to stay here until Volm patrols are sighted, and then we will leave. Anyone who wants to join us in our resistance against the Espheni is welcome to do so, and anyone who does not is free to wait for the Volm to arrive.' He looked around again. 'That's all. Good luck in your choice.'

'So, we're leaving again?' Matt said, looking around the room at his family. The Masons, including Jon and Korinne, had crammed into Tom and Anne's bedroom, along with Maggie, Abby and Jimmy and their pack.

'Eventually,' Tom nodded. 'We're going to stay until we actually see evidence of the Volm getting near Charleston, then we'll leave.'

'Okay,' Matt nodded.

'Will you two come with us?' Anne asked, looking at Jon and Korinne.

'Hell yes,' Jon replied. 'We're not going to Brazil to lay around while some people keep fighting. Anyways,' he added, glancing at Korinne, then around the room, 'we're not leaving our family again.'

'Speaking of family, some of us have an announcement,' Anne said, looking towards Abby, Ben, Jimmy, and Deni.

'Right,' Abby nodded. She looked around the room, sighed, and spoke: 'I just want to say, we love you all, and we're so glad we met you. Or found you. Or you found us, or whatever. But'—

'I knew there was a "but" coming,' Hal sighed.

'But Charleston isn't safe for us,' Abby continued. 'A lot has happened in the two days we've been here, and Jimmy and I have come to the conclusion that we can't stay here for any length of time. Our pack will wait in the woods until the 2nd Mass leaves.'

'And we're going with them,' Deni added, looking at Ben. 'The anti-skitter talk is at an all-time high, so all spike-backs are getting it. Ben and I are just as at risk as the pack, so we've decided to go with them.'

'You're kidding,' Korinne stared open-mouthed at her sister. 'You're leaving?'

'We have to,' Abby sighed. 'We'll be back, don't worry.'

'When are you leaving?' Korinne asked.

'Tomorrow morning,' Ben replied.

'Wow,' Hal sighed.

'Now's when someone gives the "good news",' Matt said sarcastically.

'Actually, I have some good news,' Hal perked up. 'Well, Maggie and I do.'

'Really?' Matt stared at his older brother. 'I swear I was joking.'

'Shut up,' Hal bumped his hand against Matt's head. 'Maggie and I are getting married. We don't know when, but it's going to happen. Soon.'

'Congratulations!' Anne grinned.

'We're happy for you,' Tom added, smiling at his second-oldest son.

'Is there a reason?' Abby hinted, smiling knowingly.

'As a matter of fact, there is,' Maggie retorted. 'Love.'

'Well, that and the fact that Maggie's pregnant,' Hal added.

**A/N: So yeah! Yes, that is supposed to be the last line. Stay tuned for the sequel! Assuming I actually write it... (Don't worry, it's already started)**


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